Elizabeth I Armada Portrait Quiz

As there is currently a campaign to save one version of this painting, and there's been a recent Claire Chats video on it, plus an 11-page report by Melanie V. Taylor, I thought it would be fun to test your knowledge of it. Good luck!

Elizabeth I Armada Portrait

Q1) Which Tudor courtier's family are currently selling a version of the Elizabeth I Armada Portrait, sparking a campaign to save it and put it on public display ?

Sir Walter Ralegh

Sir Francis Drake

Sir John Hawkins

William Adams

Correct!

Wrong! It's Sir Francis Drake. His descendants are the Tyrwhitt-Drake family.

Q2) If the campaign to save the Tyrwhitt-Drake Armada portrait is successful, where will it be displayed?

Royal Museums Greenwich

The National Portrait Gallery

Windsor Castle

The National Gallery

Correct! The Art Fund and Royal Museums Greenwich are collaborating in trying to save it.

Wrong! At Greenwich. The Art Fund and Royal Museums Greenwich are collaborating in trying to save it.

Q3) How much do the Art Fund and Royal Museums Greenwich estimate that they need to raise to buy the painting?

£5 million

£15 million

£10 million

£150,000

Correct!

Wrong! It's £10 million.

Q4) How many surviving versions of the Armada Portrait are there?

Correct! The Tyrwhitt-Drake family version, The Woburn Abbey version and the National Portrait Gallery version.

Wrong! There are 3: the Tyrwhitt-Drake family version, The Woburn Abbey version and the National Portrait Gallery version.

Q5) What's the main difference between the NPG version and the other two?

It's in a "portrait" (vertical) format

Elizabeth I is facing the other way

Elizabeth I is depicted as much older

Elizabeth I is not wearing pearls

Correct! It has been cut down so the sides are missing.

Wrong! It's in a portrait/vertical format rather than landscape/horizontal. It has been cut down so the sides are missing.

Q6) Who painted the original Armada portrait?

Nicholas Hilliard

Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger

Unknown artist

George Gower

Correct! It was once attributed to George Gower, but now all three paintings are attributed to "unknown artist" and all three are thought to be by different artists or workshops.

Wrong! The answer is "unknown artist". It was once attributed to George Gower, but now all three paintings are attributed to "unknown artist" and all three are thought to be by different artists or workshops.

Q7) One window depicts the arrival of the Armada, what does the other window depict?

Elizabeth I in armour

The fire ships

Sir Francis Drake

The defeat of the Armada

Correct!

Wrong! It depicts the defeat of the Armada.

Q8) A globe is featured in the painting, on which part of the world does Elizabeth I's hand rest?

England

The Americas

Spain

The English Channel

Correct! England was busy colonising the Americas at this time and this painting was painted one year after the birth of the first English child in the colonists' settlement of Virginia.

Wrong! It's the Americas. England was busy colonising the Americas at this time and this painting was painted one year after the birth of the first English child in the colonists' settlement of Virginia.

Q9) What is carved on the arm of the chair in the painting?

A mermaid

A pelican

A phoenix

A falcon

Correct! According to C J Cairns, it is "a symbol of the potential destructive nature of females" and Elizabeth's position, with her back to the image, could signify her rejection of its meaning.

Wrong! It's a mermaid. According to C J Cairns, it is "a symbol of the potential destructive nature of females" and Elizabeth's position, with her back to the image, could signify her rejection of its meaning.

Q10) How old would Elizabeth I have been when the portrait was painted?

Correct! Although she is depicted as much younger.

Wrong! She would have been 55, although she is depicted as much younger.

You can find out more about the painting in my Claire Chats video and Melanie's report.