Katherine Knollys (née Carey), Lady Knollys

Unknown artist, 1562

Download2889 × 4000 px View on a wall Edit

Medium: Oil on panel
Size: 42 3/4 x 31 1/4 inches (108.6 x 79.4 cm)
Museum: Yale Center for British Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

As a Protestant, Lady Knollys (pronounced knowles) fled England during the reign of the Catholic monarch Mary I. Knollys returned from Germany after Elizabeth I’s accession in 1558. She was then appointed as a Lady of the Bedchamber — an official and influential position within the royal household, which gave her influence over access to the queen and, with that, political power. Here, she is shown at 38 years old and pregnant with her son Dudley. In her left hand she holds a pair of gloves. In her right hand is the gold chain of a girdle, which is strung around her waist and has a large enameled jewel at its end. A faithful dog stands by her side on a velvet covered table — one the earliest depictions of a pet in British art.

Text: Yale Center for British Art.