Portrait of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent (1671-1740)

Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent, commissioned this portrait of himself to hang in his London house in St JamesÂ’s Square. It was later brought to his country seat at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire. During the 1830s Wrest Park was rebuilt by GreyÂ’s descendant, Thomas, Earl de Grey, in the style of a French château. The painting remained in the house until the estate and its contents were sold by the family in 1917. The attribution to the Irish portraitist Charles Jervas was made in the Duke of KentÂ’s 1718 picture list. At other times the painting has been attributed to Jacopo Amigoni and Thomas Hudson, both of whom painted members of Queen AnneÂ’s court. It now returns to Wrest Park as part of English HeritageÂ’s work to restore the interiors, complete with their original contents.