Richard Perkins (1585?-1650) was an actor who became a member of Queen Anne's company by 1602. He was involved with the formation of the Revels company and joined the King's Men in 1623/4 but moved to Queen Henrietta's company, in which he was a colleague of William Cartwright the younger. Probably painted in the late 1640s, the pose in this picture seems to derive from Van Dyck's portrait of Charles I in three positions (Royal Collection).
