Subject: colonist militiaman

Culture: Stuart English

Setting: colonial warfare, eastern North America late 16-17thc

* Virginia Museum of Fine Arts > European Art

"English or European, early 17th century

Sir Thomas Dale, ca. 1607

Oil on canvas

Signed, lower right: Sr: THOMAS DALLE / CAP:TN ...

Sir Thomas Dale (ca. 1560s-1619) was an accomplished soldier and efficient administrator; talents acknowledged by King James I, who knighted him in June 1606. Here, he is depicted in fashionable period attire -- flat lace collar, bulbous breeches, and black hose. The armor on the table behind him indicates his profession as soldier and commander.

"The Virginia Company sought Dale's assistance to revive what was then an ailing colony, and he arrived there on May 10, 1611, to serve as acting deputy governor. In September he led three hundred settlers to form a new township at Henrico, named in honor of King James's eldest son. There he attempted to make peace with the Indians, among other things encouraging the marriage of Powhatan's daughter Pocahontas to English settler John Rolfe.

"Though anonymous, this painting is the work of a skilled artist fluent in the international court styles of his day. Further research may eventually reveal the name and nationality of the painter."