Sir Thomas More (1477/88–1535) was a leading English humanist scholar and Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII of England. He was executed in 1535 after refusing to sign the oath to the Act of Supremacy. More received Hans Holbein as a guest in 1526, after a recommendation from his friend Desiderius Erasmus. Holbein painted a portrait of More based on this study and also a group portrait of More's family, now lost, in which More was pictured in the same pose. This is one of seven fine portrait sketches of More family members that survive, along with a pen-and-ink study for the group portrait. It is the only one pricked for transfer. Reference

• Susan Foister, Holbein in England, London: Tate, 2006, ISBN 1854376454, p. 35