William Cartwright

With his mouth firmly set and a serious, slightly wary gaze, William Cartwright (1606–86) is giving nothing away. Dressed in a voluminous black gown, his face emerges from the muted background, framed by his hair that falls in soft waves over his shoulders. Rather than surround himself with the attributes of his profession as an actor, Cartwright has chosen to present himself as a gentleman, assured and satisfied, borrowing an aristocratic turn of the head from portraits of nobility. With a naturalistic flush to his cheeks and the hint of shine to the tip of his nose, Cartwright’s likeness is the more accomplished aspect of the painting, while the hands that cradle the head of the loyal mastiff, and the dog itself, appear disconnected and unresolved. The pose is an adaptation of the Flemish artist Anthony van Dyck’s (1599–1641) portrait of the English dramatist Thomas Killigrew (1612–83), which also uses the device of the mastiff to lead the eye to the face of its master, with his initials added to the dog’s collar as are those of Cartwright, shown here. It is possible that Cartwright was familiar with Van Dyck’s portrait of Killigrew, as Cartwright was a founding member of the acting troupe of The King’s Men under Killigrew’s management in the newly revived theatrical scene of the 1660s. From an acting career that began under King Charles I (1600–49), Cartwright became a bookseller in the Interregnum period (‘between reigns’) from 1642–60, when the theatres were closed. He returned to the stage, playing leading roles in many Restoration plays.  

Painted by the English artist John Greenhill (1642–76), this is the only known portrait of William Cartwright, but the painting holds significance in other ways for Dulwich Picture Gallery. It is part of a historic bequest left by Cartwright to Dulwich College in 1686, consisting of his collection of portraits, drawings, prints, books, manuscripts and even a ‘Turkish carpet’. From the original bequest of over two hundred paintings to Dulwich College, just over seventy can be identified at Dulwich Picture Gallery today, many having been taken by servants or given away before Dulwich Picture Gallery was established in 1811. From Cartwright’s inventory, his portrait can be assuredly matched to his description – ‘my picture in a black dress, with a great dog.’ The black gown and dog also feature in a preparatory drawing by Greenhill, who was a neighbour of Cartwright’s and was commissioned to paint several other paintings in the bequest. Greenhill was a pupil of Dutch portraitist Peter Lely (1618–80), and produced many portraits that match Lely’s in the quality of their execution. However, his career was short-lived and at the age of thirty-four he fell into a gutter in Covent Garden while intoxicated and died shortly after.