Catalogue description Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland 1564-1632

After Sir Anthony Van Dyck

Nearly whole length, seated, head resting on his right hand; dark brown hair with quiff on top, receding over temples, dark brown eyes, dark brown moustache and full beard; plain white collar and cuffs, black gown with gold frogging; white paper on table left, a curtain behind, column on right.

An old, relined, copy of Van Dyck's original at Petworth (223) where the sitter was buried: there are reproductions at Castle Howard and in Lord Denbigh's collection, Dr. Kellett bought his version from Andersons and Garland in 1935; its previous history is not known, but it is probably seventeenth or early eighteenth century work and possibly from a North country house. The date of the original is not known, but if from life, should be either 1621 or 1632, the only years in which sitter and artist are likely to have met. An earlier whole length, ascribed to Mytens (Petworth 590, repetition or copy at Alnwick) is near the engraving by Francis Delaram, 1697 (Hind 27): its true date is probably c. 1602 as it has an inscription alluding to Northumberland's service in the Low Countries. Another engraving by Delaram (Hind 26) shews the sitter in a hat: it was afterwards altered to represent Ernest Count Mansfield. Miniature by Isaac Oliver of a Knight of the Garter in the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Rijksmuseum though alike are not necessarily both of the same person, and may represent either Northumberland or the Earl of Mulgrave.

Given by Dr. C. E. Kellett, 1975.

C. H. Collins Baker, Catalogue of the Petworth Collection, 1920, pp.29.86. and pls. facing: A. M. Hind, Engraving in England, II, 1955. pp. 228-29m and pl. 131: V. & A. Hillard and Oliver, exhibition catalogue, 1947 152. 168: Annals, 29 January 1976. Doc. 6 .

Born at Tynemouth Castle, eldest son of the eighth Earl, Henry Percy was early educated in the protestant faith. Later during a visit to Paris he came under suspicion of sharing the views of catholic friends. He succeeded his father in 1585. His main interests were in alchemy and astrology and through his scientific experiments he became known as 'the Wizard Earl'. He was installed as a Knight of the Garter in 1596 and in 1599 bore the insignia of the Garter to Henry IV of France.

The Earl was an irascible, quarrelsome man and a harsh landlord. His marriage to Dorothy, sister of the second Earl of Essex, was uncongenial to both of them. He became strongly addicted to tobacco - he made many protests about the imprisonment of Sir Walter Raleigh - and lost large sums in gambling.

When James VI of Scotland came to the English throne, Northumberland in- gratiated himself with the King and, although no avowed catholic, sought and obtained assurances of toleration for English catholics.

On November 4 1605 he received his kinsman Thomas Percy for dinner at Syon House. The next day the Gunpowder Plot was discovered and Thomas Percy incriminated as one of the chief conspirators. Despite Northumberland's protests of disinterest in religion and politics, he was brought before the Star Chamber Court and sentenced to pay £30,000, to lose all offices and be kept in the Tower for life. Eventually he paid £11,000 and stayed in the Tower, where he employed a staff in studies of military fortification, astrology and medicine, for 16 years, emerging with defiant splendour to pass the remaining eleven years of his life at Petworth, where he and his wife are buried.