Dr. Brian Walton (born about 1600, died 1661) by John Hoskins

John Hoskins painted this miniature portrait of Dr. Brian Walton in 1657, during the most dangerous years of Walton's life. It is now held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Walton was an Anglican bishop in the Interregnum, the period after the English Civil War when the monarchy was gone and the Church of England had been abolished. To continue his life's work, a polyglot Bible compiling scripture in nine languages, he had to do it quietly and carefully. The plain white linen collar he wears here is not just fashion. Where a Cavalier would have lace, the Puritan authorities demanded severity. Walton wears the plain band, but he wears it as an Anglican scholar, not a Puritan.

Hoskins was the leading miniature painter of the era, and this tiny portrait, encased in a gold locket with a suspension ring, was made to be held or worn, not hung on a wall. That intimacy matters. It suggests a gift, a token of loyalty kept close during a time when open loyalty to the old church was a risk.

When the monarchy was restored in 1660, Walton was made Bishop of Chester. He had waited. This miniature, small enough to conceal in a palm, is an object of that long patience.