The Streatham Portrait called Lady Jane Grey | |
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Artist | Unknown |
Year | 1590s |
Medium | Oil on panel |
Dimensions | 85.6 cm × 60.3 cm (33.7 in × 23.7 in) |
Location | National Portrait Gallery, London, England |
Owner | National Portrait Gallery |
Accession | NPG 6804 |
The "Streatham" portrait is an oil painting on panel from the 1590s believed to be a later copy of an earlier portrait of the English noblewoman Lady Jane Grey. It shows a three-quarter-length depiction of a young woman in Tudor-period dress holding a prayer book, with the faded inscription "Lady Jayne" or "Lady Iayne" in the upper-left corner. It is in poor condition and damaged, as if it has been attacked. As of January 2015[update] the portrait is in Room 3 of the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The work is thought to have been completed as part of a set of paintings of Protestant martyrs. It was in the possession of a collector in Streatham, London, by the early 20th century. In December 2005 the portrait was examined by the art dealer Christopher Foley. He saw it as an accurate, though poorly executed, reproduction of a contemporary painting of Jane, had it verified and on that basis negotiated its sale. The work was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in London for a rumoured £100,000. The historian David Starkey was highly critical of the sale and challenged Foley's identifications.