Portrait of Sir Thomas Lucy and his Family

A reduced copy of a picture at Charlcote Park, Warwickshire, the Lucy family’s ancestral home. Sir Thomas (1586/7-1640) and his wife Alice are shown surrounded by seven of their children - they were to have 13 in all - including their eldest son who steps in from the garden with a dish of fruit. The two children with the dog in the foreground are boys: at this date male and female children below the age of about six were dressed alike, except that boys wore a miniature version of the adult doublet over their skirts. The books and horse’s bridle on the table beside Sir Thomas indicate his interest in both the active and the contemplative life.