Samuel Pepys's First Portrait Painter: Daniel Savile and Portraiture for the Middling Sort in Restoration London

In the early 1660s Samuel Pepys discovered that commissioning portraits could be an enjoyable and highly rewarding experience. As a result, between 1661 and 1668 he ordered three portraits of himself, arranged for three more of his wife, one of his father, at least two of friends, and – an unexpected bonus – an image of his wife's dog. Of these, only one is known to survive, a portrait by John Hayls from 1666 that shows Pepys in a hired 'Indian gown' and holding music of his own composing. Portrait commissioning became a lifetime pursuit for Pepys: another five portraits survive from between 1670 and his death in 1703, along with contemporary copies of those portraits and others of less certain identification. Versions of his portraits were given to commemorate his links to institutions such as the Royal Society or travelled with friends across the sea. Pepys also continued to pay for portraits of his friends and family, and decorated his library walls with pictures of learned acquaintances.