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The coming of Storm Bert means that strong winds are forecast this weekend.

For the safety of all visitors, we’ll be closing areas of our grounds on Saturday and Sunday. The house and exhibitions remain fully open.

Tudor
MysterY

A Master Painter Revealed

4 February 2023 – 8 May 2023

Tudor Mystery: A Master Painter Revealed ran from 4 February 2023 – 8 May 2023.

Tudor Mystery: A Master Painter Revealed was the world’s first exhibition devoted to an important, talented and largely forgotten painter known as the Master of the Countess of Warwick. Inspired by the portrait of Thomas Knyvett in our British Portraits collection, this exciting show took you on an art historical journey to discover the signature style of this painter and speculate on his real identity.

A Tudor painting of a girl and three boys. The girl is playing a piano and the boys are holding music books. They all look very serious and are in dark clothing.
Master of the Countess of Warwick, A Group of Four Children Making Music, Private Collection, photo courtesy of the Weiss Gallery

About the
Exhibition

The exhibition featured loans from public and private collections from across the UK and Ireland, many of which are rarely seen in public. These included Hans Eworth’s dazzling pair of portraits of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk (Private Collection) and Margaret Audley, Duchess of Norfolk (Private Collection, on loan to English Heritage) and the portrait of Anne Russell, Countess of Warwick (c. 1569, Woburn Abbey) from which our painter gets his name. The loan of several important miniatures by Nicholas Hilliard will further demonstrate the links between large-scale portraits and miniatures at this time, helping to tell the story of this talented painter’s abilities and the pivotal role that he played in the development of portraiture in Britain.

The exhibition was proudly presented in partnership with Philip Mould & Company.