SNN116171 - The Long Gallery Portraits of Apethorpe Hall, Northamptonshire

Between 1624 and 1640 16 full-length portraits were set into the full-height panelling of the Long Gallery of Apethorpe Hall in Northamptonshire, the country seat of the earls of Westmorland. This ensemble, as we shall see, was doubly innovative, in terms of both its physical construction and its subject matter. In the 18th century, new panelling was erected in front of several windows, creating space for an additional five portraits. Substitutions were made from time to time, yet the series remained substantially intact until it was dismounted, and the paintings dispersed, in the late 19th century. Although over a century has elapsed since this happened, surviving evidence has made it possible to reconstruct the history of the portrait series and to trace reproductions of most of the paintings, even if their present locations, generally private collections, are not always known or readily accessible.