National pays £218,000 to save Fletcher

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

The portrait of John Fletcher, who was one of the most successful playwrights of his day, was bought from the seventh earl of Clarendon for £218,000.

Among the donations the gallery received were £50,000 from the Art Fund and £2,700 from a raffle at the Fletcher's House Tea Rooms in Rye, Sussex, the property where Fletcher was born in 1579.

Catherine MacLeod, curator of 17th-century portraits, said: "The National Portrait Gallery's portraits of Elizabethan and Jacobean writers is one of the most famous parts of the collection.

"This portrait will enable us to fill in an important gap in the story that we are currently able to tell about literature in this period."

The work is believed to be the only surviving portrait of Fletcher produced in his lifetime.