Rare portrait sparks identity quest

A rare 400-year-old painting, housed in a Kent former hunting lodge of Henry VIII, is at the heart of an identity mystery.

One of the two teenage boys featured in the portrait is of African heritage, representing an very early full-length depiction of a black figure in English art.

The rare nature of the portrait has inspired a major research project with the National Portrait Gallery to identify both the boys.

The painting, which has been at Penshurst Place since at least 1743, will go on display at the gallery in London from September.

Charlotte Bolland, senior curator for research at the National Portrait Gallery, told Secret Kent their investigation will "find more about who these boys are".

They will use the expertise of "dress historians, hunting historians, genealogists and family historians", she said.

Researchers say they believe the painting may be one of the earliest known full-length depictions of a black individual in British portraiture.

Michael Ohajuru, a senior fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, said it was "exceptional" for a painting of this age to show a black figure "at the equivalent size" to white counterparts.

He says the picture is of "international significance" due to its rarity, and the research into it will "have an impact in terms of the black presence in Europe in that period and even later".

While the original painting is being restored and analysed, a life-sized replica is currently on display at Penshurst Place, as part of a new exhibition named 'Who Are the Two Boys?

Philip Sidney, heir to Penshurst Place, says records suggest "the painting has been in Penshurst since 1973".

"It's been on public display since 1947, but it's only recently that we've been getting a lot more questions about it," he said.

The painting has no known connection to Penshurst and while the identities of the subjects remain unknown, Sidney says they can only "speculate about the connection with the family".

The original painting will return to Kent after its 18 months on public display at the National Portrait Gallery, which will run from September until March 2028.

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