Tudor portrait could fetch up to £3m at auction

Julian Gascoigne said the fourth Duke of Norfolk was "the most important, powerful man in the Kingdom during the reign of Elizabeth I"

A 500-year-old painting of a duke, believed to be one of the finest Tudor portraits left in private hands, is estimated to fetch up to £3m at auction.

The artwork of Thomas Howard, the fourth Duke of Norfolk, who was born in Kenninghall in the 1530s, was painted by Hans Eworth in 1562.

The painting had been on loan to Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire but will go up for auction on Wednesday.

Julian Gascoigne, senior director in the Old Masters paintings department at Sotheby's, said: "It is spectacularly well preserved and in the most amazing condition with very minimal, if any, retouching or damage to it and for a painting that is nearly half a millennium old, it's pretty impressive."

Another painting, not up for auction, was painted of his wife, and the backgrounds match up

Mr Gascoigne added: "It's nearly 500 years old. Paintings of this sort of quality and this kind of condition, of that age, very rarely appear on the market.

"The fourth Duke of Norfolk was the most important, powerful man in the Kingdom during the reign of Elizabeth I. Short of the monarch herself, he really is the most significant in the country... and acquired huge tracts of land across England."

After the death of the duke's third wife, he tried to select Mary Queen of Scots as his fourth wife; however, he ended up arrested, imprisoned and embroiled in the Ridolfi plot to try to assassinate Elizabeth I and was executed.

The painting is believed to have been acquired by the first Lord Rothschild and was in his family's collection from the 19th Century before it was loaned to Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire.

'Most important Tudor portrait'

The painting of the duke was one half of a pair. Another artwork of his wife at the time, Margaret Audley, was created, and the backgrounds match up when side by side. However, the second portrait will not be auctioned.

Mr Gascoigne said the joined-up tapestry background added to the significance of the piece, which was "completely unique" in British art at the time.

"I would go so far to say it's one of, if not the most important Tudor portrait left in private hands," he said.

The Howard family's principal seat is Arundel Castle in West Sussex, and they have links to Norfolk, including Castle Rising.

The painting is expected to fetch between £2m and £3m at an auction in London on Wednesday, which Mr Gascoigne said reflected its significance and importance.

"I hope it goes somewhere where it can be looked after properly and kept in the right, appropriate conditions," he said.