In 1996 when the ‘Master John’ portrait of Lady Jane was re-identified by Dr Susan James as Katherine Parr, Nigel Richards wrote in The Daily Telegraph, ‘The lady vanishes as portrait of Jane Grey is proved wrong.’
Is history repeating itself with Dr James’ new research about the Streatham Portrait of Jane?
The ‘Lady Jayne/Streatham portrait’ was discovered at a house in Streatham in January 2006 and was purchased by the National Portrait Gallery later that year. It has been on display as part of Tudor exhibitions around the world and is currently on display in the NPG’s Tudor Gallery.
(c) NPG 6804; Lady Jane Dudley (nee Grey) by Unknown artist
‘Which sixteenth-century queen of England is represented in the National Portrait Gallery painting NPG 6804? Is it the tragic nine-day queen Lady Jane Grey or Queen Kateryn Parr, the sixth and surviving wife of the notorious Henry VIII? This article seeks not only to identify the lady in the portrait but to suggest the circumstances that surrounded its commission. Although labeled “Lady Jane”, the painting is a copy of an earlier work and evidence provided by new research indicates that the original work is more likely to be a portrait of Kateryn Parr created in the seminal year 1544 when Parr was acting as Regent-General of England. NPG 6804 is not only a statement of Parr’s political power but presents evidence of her commitment to the English Renaissance, to English Church and to the new literature that supported it.’
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