Sir Thomas Exmewe was born in Ruthin, Denbighshire c. 1454 and was a member of the Goldsmiths Company. He was elected Sheriff of London in 1508 and Lord Mayor of London on 5 December 1517. He became the first Lord Mayor of London whose portrait is known to have been painted. The posthumous portrait, dated c. 1550, is now in the collection of the Guildhall Art Gallery and has been attributed to John Bettes the Elder.Exmewe died in 1529.