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| Title | Sir Nicholas Carew | |
| Collection | Sutton Heritage Service, London | |
| Artist | Attributed to after Holbein, Hans, the younger (German painter, draftsman, born 1497 or 1498, died 1543, active in Switzerland and England) | |
| Date Earliest | about 1700 | |
| Date Latest | about 1800 | |
| Description | Quarter-length portrait of Sir Nicholas Carew (1496-1539), Knight of the Garter and favourite of King Henry the VIII. He rose quickly in the King's favour, to become squire of the King's body and cypherer, or 'cupbearer' to the king. He was so close to the King that he was criticised by the King's Council for being over-familiar, and 'not regarding his estate or degree'. He was Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex and ambassador to the court of Francois I. His fall from grace was as precipitous as it was mysterious; he became linked to the treasonous plots of Lord Montague and Cardinal Pole, and was beheaded in 1539. It is believed to be a copy, made for Horace Walpole, of a painting now lost which hung in the parlour of Carew Manor from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. In the upper left corner is the achievement of Carew arms, encircled with Garter belt and motto. | |
| Current Accession Number | LDSCL:B.080 | |
| Inscription | front ur 'Sir Nicholas Carew Knight of the Garter and Master of the Horse to King Henry the VII'; front ul 'Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense' | |
| Subject | portrait (Carew, Nicholas) | |
| Measurements | 53 x 41 cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on canvas | |
| Acquisition Details | Purchased from Sotheby's 1989. | |
| Notes | Purchased at a Sotheby's auction on the 27 April 1989, 'to include the collection from the estate of the late Mrs Edward Stafford Howard'. The painting was lot 3143, however, it is not clear if it came from the Howard estate. | |
| Rights Owner | London Borough of Sutton | |
| Author | Malcolm Barclay | |