Brief Biography-The portrait artist Robert Peake tutored William Dobson from the city of London. He also received some instruction from the German-born painter Francis Cleyn; however, his greatest inspiration came from copying Van Dyck and Titian paintings. History states that Van Dyck happened on one of his paintings in a shop window in Snow Hill, London. Van Dyck was so impressed that he enquired about the artist and subsequently introduced him to King Charles I. The king took him to Oxford after the demise of Van Dyck; there, the king sat for portraits and afforded him the name the English Tintoretto. As a result, he became distinguished as one of the finest artists in England. After the civil war, Dobson struggled financially and became imprisoned for debt. He sadly died at the young age of thirty-six in a state of poverty in London.