Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex (1526 – 1583)
British (English) School
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1500 - 1599
Materials
Oil on panel (pine)
Measurements
533 x 406 mm (21 x 16 in)
Order this imageCollection
Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire
NT 1129155
Caption
The sitter was the eldest son of Sir Henry Radcliffe, 2nd Earl of Sussex. He assisted Queen Mary in suppressing Wyatt’s rebellion and in the marriage negotiations with Philip II. Later, in 1556, he was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland, where he was known as a vigorous administrator. He returned to England on the news of Mary’s death, and was thereafter employed by Queen Elizabeth to negotiate her marriage with the Archduke Maximilian in 1567. He was buried in St. Andrew’s Church, Essex, which contains his full-length tomb effigy (1589). He is shown grasping the chamberlain’s staff to represent his intellectual capacity and appointed power. He is shown wearing the Order of the Garter.
Summary
Oil painting on pine panel, Thomas Radcliffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex (1526 – 1583), British (English) School, 16th century. Inscribed upper left: LD TREASURER / BURLEIGH. A bust portrait, turned slightly to right, gazing at spectator, wearing blue cloak with fur collar, white lace ruff, black cap and chain and Garter star; holding Lord Chamberlain's staff in his right hand. Similar portraits are in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Radcliffe was Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1556 and Lord President of the North in 1569. He assisted in negotiating Queen Mary's marriage with Philip II. Apparently the sitter was already misidentified as Lord Treasurer Burghley when it was listed in the Low Great Chamber in 1601.
Provenance
In Inventory of the contents of Hardwick Hall made in 1601 and attached to the will of Elizabeth Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury (c.1520-1608) and in 1786/92 catalogue as 'Lord Treasurer Burleigh '; thence by descent until, following the death of Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire (1895 - 1950), Hardwick Hall and its contents were accepted by HM Treasury in part payment of death duties and transferred to the National Trust, in 1959
Credit line
Hardwick Hall, The Devonshire Collection (acquired through the National Land Fund and transferred to The National Trust in 1959)
Marks and inscriptions
upper left LD TREASURER/BURLEIGH
Makers and roles
British (English) School, artist
References
Strong 1969 Roy Strong, Tudor and Jacobean Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, London 1969 [2 vols], vol. I, p. 310.