The Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare, an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminate dramatist. This portrait is attributed to Joseph Taylor, and dated to about 1610. The National Portrait Gallery located in London, who own it, say it is the only painting with any real claim to have been done from life. His surviving works consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narratives poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.