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Thomas was related to Sir Henry Lee, Elizabeth I's Champion and creator of imagery for her annual Accession Day celebrations. Henry may have helped devise the complex symbolism of this portrait. Thomas served in the English colonial forces in Ireland. His bare legs are a fantasy evocation both of the dress of an Irish soldier, and that of a Roman hero. Thomas was suspected of treachery to Elizabeth and visited London in 1594 partly to refute this. The Latin inscription in the tree refers to the Roman Mucius Scaevola, who stayed true to Rome even when among its enemies. Lee implies that he too is faithful.
Title
Portrait of Captain Thomas Lee
Date
1594
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
H 230.5 x W 150.8 cm
Accession number
T03028
Acquisition method
Purchased with assistance from the Friends of the Tate Gallery, the Art Fund and The Pilgrim Trust 1980
Work type
Painting
Inscription description
date inscribed
-
William Camden (1551–1623) Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford -
Richard Tomlins (1564?–1650) Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford -
Sir William ffaryngton of Worden Hall (1537–1610), Leyland, Lancashire Museum of Lancashire -
Sir Henry Savile (1549–1622) Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford -
Sir Henry Lee, Master of the Armouries (1580–1610) Royal Armouries Museum -
Portrait of a Man in Classical Dress, possibly Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke Tate -
Sir Francis Drake (1540–1596) National Maritime Museum - 92 more
