Museum report·Wakefield
Hamilton Kerr Institute begins public technical study of Holbein More family copy
The Hamilton Kerr Institute has begun an eight-day public technical examination of a large copy of Holbein's Portrait of Sir Thomas More and His Family at Nostell Priory, using macro XRF and infrared reflectography.

The Hamilton Kerr Institute, the University of Cambridge's paintings conservation department, has begun an eight-day public technical examination of a large-scale copy of Hans Holbein's Portrait of Sir Thomas More and His Family at Nostell Priory. Conservators are using macro X-ray fluorescence and infrared reflectography to investigate the painting's materials and underdrawing in front of visitors. The study, reported on 4 September 2026, offers the public a rare view of conservation science in action on a work tied to one of Tudor England's most famous lost portraits. The project continues the institute's programme of open technical examinations that bring research directly to audiences.

