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| The Proscribed Royalist, 1651 | |
| Artist: | John Everett Millais |
| Year: | 1852-1853 |
| Medium: | Oil on canvas |
| Height Metric: | 102.8 |
| Width Metric: | 73.6 |
| Metric Unit: | cm |
| Imperial Unit: | in |
| Museum: | Lord Lloyd-Webber Collection |
The Proscribed Royalist, 1651 (1852-1853) is a painting by John Everett Millais which depicts a young Puritan woman protecting a fleeing Royalist after the Battle of Worcester in 1651, the decisive defeat of Charles II by Oliver Cromwell. The Royalist is hiding in a hollow tree, a reference to a famous incident in which Charles himself hid in a tree to escape from his pursuers. Millais was also influenced by Vincenzo Bellini's 1835 opera I Puritani.[1]
His friend and fellow painter, Arthur Hughes, served as the model for the Royalist.[2]
Millais painted the picture in Hayes, Kent, from a local oak tree that became known as the Millais Oak.[3]