called Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford

Aubrey de Vere (1626-1703), was the 20th Earl of Oxford. He was brought up in Holland, fighting with the Dutch from 1644-46. He upheld the Royalist cause during the English Commonwealth, being twice imprisoned in the Tower in 1654 and 1659, and acted as envoy to recall Charles II in 1660. He subsequently opposed James II and supported William III. The inscription is worn and the sitter's age was perhaps originally given correctly as 36. Gerard Soest probably trained in the United Provinces before moving to England in the mid- to late 1640s. There he established a successful portrait practice, how works showing the influence of Dobson and Van Dyck.