The Earl of Arundel | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Peter Paul Rubens, 1629-1630, National Gallery | |
| Born | 7 July 1585 Finchingfield, Essex |
| Died | 4 October 1646 (aged 60) Padua, Italy |
| Buried | Fitzalan Chapel, Arundel |
| Noble family | Howard |
| Spouse(s) | Alethea Talbot |
| Issue | Mary Anne Howard, William Howard, 1st Viscount Stafford Henry Howard, 15th Earl of Arundel James Howard, Lord Maltravers |
| Parents | Philip Howard, 13th Earl of Arundel Anne Dacre |
Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel KG, (7 July 1585 – 4 October 1646) was an English peer, diplomat and courtier during the reigns of King James I and King Charles I, but he made his name as a Grand Tourist and art collector rather than as a politician. When he died he possessed 700 paintings, along with large collections of sculptures, books, prints, drawings, and antique jewellery. Most of his collection of marble carvings, known as the Arundel marbles, was eventually left to the University of Oxford.
He is sometimes referred to as the 21st Earl of Arundel, ignoring the supposed second creation of 1289, or the 2nd Earl of Arundel, the latter numbering depending on whether one views the earldom obtained by his father as a new creation or not. He was also 2nd or 4th Earl of Surrey; and was later created 1st Earl of Norfolk (5th creation). He is also known as "the Collector Earl".