Art Historian Discovers Long-Lost Portrait of Henry VIII in Background of Social Media Post

Earlier this month, art historian Adam Busiakiewicz was scrolling through X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, when a particular post caught his eye. Shared by Tim Cox, the British crown’s representative in Warwickshire, the snapshot showed a reception at the local shire hall. But it was the background of the photo, not the figures in it, that caught Busiakiewicz’s attention: Next to a door marked by a neon exit sign hung a portrait of the English king Henry VIII, nestled in a frame topped by a rounded arch.

He immediately suspected that this was no ordinary portrait of the famed Tudor monarch.

After examining the artwork in person, Busiakiewicz, a consultant at Sotheby’s, and Aaron Manning, a specialist at a royal palace outside of central London, identified it as a long-lost likeness of the mercurial monarch, painted in the late 16th century as part of a collection of 22 portraits depicting European royals, statesmen and military leaders alike.

Delighted to host a reception for Lieutenancy ambassadors to thank them and my Deputy Lieutenants for all they do across #Warwickshire pic.twitter.com/gJOssu2Zj5

— Warwickshire Lieutenancy (@Warkslieutenant) July 4, 2024

“Social media is a crazy thing,” Busiakiewicz tells CNN’s Lianne Kolirin, “because some people use it to watch cat videos and follow what’s going on in the world, and then people like me just look at what people have hanging on their walls.”

Per a blog post, the portrait’s distinctive frame clued the art historian into its potential significance, reminding him “of a famous set of likenesses commissioned by the local politician and tapestry maker Ralph Sheldon … during the 1590s,” when Henry’s younger daughter, Elizabeth I, was on the throne.

Painted by an anonymous artist known as the Sheldon Master, the set featured portraits of Richard III, Catherine de’ Medici and many of their contemporaries. Sheldon incorporated the works into an architectural frieze at his Warwickshire estate, Weston House, where they hung “in the great room, all around almost, at the top,” an 18th-century visitor observed.

Today, only a handful of the portraits are known to survive, scattered across private and public collections. Most vanished from the historical record after being sold at auction in 1781. Prior to its recent rediscovery, the portrait of Henry was last spotted in 1908, when it went under the hammer at Christie’s, according to research conducted by curator Catherine Daunt.

In a second blog post published after his visit to Warwick Shire Hall, Busiakiewicz outlined the evidence for the portrait’s identification. The work’s rounded frame and size (almost three feet tall) match two other portraits from the set, and the quality of the likeness suggests its creator was a skilled artist. An original inscription, hidden by overpainting but revealed by the glow of a flashlight, reads “Henry / The 8.” The portrait’s composition also closely aligns with a drawing of the set in situ at Weston House; the illustration shows the aging king with a sword clasped in his right hand and gold chains around his neck.

“There are lots of Tudor corridor sets which were produced at the time,” Busiakiewicz tells the London Times’ Jack Blackburn. “But I think the Sheldon set is important because it was probably the grandest. They are much larger than the standard corridor set. They are also, I think, much higher quality.”

A plaque below the portrait indicates that the Warwickshire County Council acquired it from Madingley Hall, now part of the University of Cambridge, in 1951, when it was attributed simply to an artist working in the style of Hans Holbein the Younger. The painting’s full provenance, including its whereabouts between 1908 and 1951, remains unknown.

Speaking with BBC News’ Alice Cullinane, Busiakiewicz declined to estimate the painting’s value but noted that other works from the set have sold for around £200,000, or roughly $250,000. For now, the portrait has been moved to a more protected location “for further evaluation and research into its history,” per a statement. Councilors hope to eventually display the likeness alongside a portrait of Sheldon and his tapestry map of Warwickshire, both of which are currently on view at Market Hall Museum in Warwick.

“I feel quite lucky,” Busiakiewicz says to the Times. “Social media allows you to have this very strange insight into a room where you might never go.”

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Meilan Solly | | READ MORE

Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's senior associate digital editor, history.