ENGLISH SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY Portrait of a gentleman, traditionally identified as Edward Talbot (1561-1617), 8th Earl of Shrewsbury, half-length, in a brown embroidered doublet and lace ruff inscribed 'Edward Earle of / Shrewsbury' (upper left) oil on panel 24 1/4 x 17 1/4 in. (61.6 x 43.8 cm.) Provenance: By descent to the 3rd Lord Savile, Rufford Abbey, Nottinghamshire; Christie's, London, 18 November 1938, Rufford Abbey Sale, lot 154, as by Zuccaro (11 gns. to the father of a former owner, by whom sold),  Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 22 November 2006, lot 11. Edward Talbot was the son of George, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury and Gertrude, daughter of Thomas Manners, Earl of Rutland. One of the estates owned by his father was Rufford Abbey, a former Cistercian monastery. This portrait was bought as part of the house’s contents by the Savile family of Yorkshire. When the house was later sold, its contents, including this portrait, were auctioned at Christie’s in 1938. Talbot married Jane, daughter of Cuthbert, 1st Baron Ogle in 1583. He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford University and was Member of Parliament for Northumberland between 1586 and 1587. In 1616 he succeeded his brother as the 8th Earl of Shrewsbury and died without issue shortly after.