Thomas Wolsey
(1470 or 1471-1530), Cardinal and statesmanSitter associated with 37 portraits
'Of vast ability and indefatigable', Wolsey was a butcher's son from Ipswich who rose to become Henry VIII's most powerful minister in the early part of his reign. He was a talented statesmen who was created a Cardinal by Pope Leo X in 1515 and was made Lord Chancellor by Henry the same year, succeeding William Warham in the post. He founded Cardinal College, Oxford (later refounded as Christ Church) and built the palace of Hampton Court. Wolsey promoted the King's ambitious foreign policy, but fell from favour when he failed to obtain Henry's divorce from Katherine of Aragon. He died before he could be tried for treason.
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.