Thomas Phillips
Encyclopedia
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
portrait
Portrait painting
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to depict the visual appearance of the subject. Beside human beings, animals, pets and even inanimate objects can be chosen as the subject for a portrait...
and subject painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. He painted many of the great men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explorers.
Life and work
Phillips was born at Dudley then in WorcestershireWorcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. Having acquired the art of glass-painting in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
under Francis Eginton
Francis Eginton
Francis Eginton , was an English glass painter. He painted windows for cathedrals, churches, chapels and stately homes etc. around the country, leaving 50 large works altogether; his work was also exported abroad. His masterpiece is "The conversion of St. Paul", for the east window of St Paul's...
, he visited London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1790 with an introduction to Benjamin West
Benjamin West
Benjamin West, RA was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence...
, who found him employment on the painted-glass windows of St George's Chapel at Windsor. In 1791, he became a student of the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, and exhibited there, in 1792, a view of Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
, followed in the next two years by the "Death of Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, at the Battle of Castillon," "Ruth and Naomi," "Elijah restoring the Widow's Son," "Cupid disarmed by Euphrosyne," and other pictures.
After 1796, he mainly confined himself to portrait-painting. However, the field was very crowded with the likes of John Hoppner
John Hoppner
John Hoppner was an English portrait painter, .-Early life:Hoppner was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of German parents - his mother was one of the German attendants at the royal palace. King George's fatherly interest and patronage of the young boy gave rise to rumours, quite unfounded,...
, William Owen, Thomas Lawrence
Thomas Lawrence (painter)
Sir Thomas Lawrence RA FRS was a leading English portrait painter and president of the Royal Academy.Lawrence was a child prodigy. He was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper. At the age of ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his...
and Martin Archer Shee
Martin Archer Shee
Sir Martin Archer Shee RA was a British portrait painter and president of the Royal Academy.-Biography:...
competing for business; consequently, from 1796 to 1800, his exhibited works were chiefly portraits of gentlemen and ladies, often nameless in the catalogue and of no great importance historically-speaking.
In 1804 he was elected an associate of the Royal Academy, together with his rival, William Owen. About the same time he relocated to 8 George Street, Hanover Square
Hanover Square, London
Hanover Square, London, is a square in Mayfair, London W1, England, situated to the south west of Oxford Circus, the major junction where Oxford Street meets Regent Street....
, London, formerly the residence of Henry Tresham
Henry Tresham
Henry Tresham was an Irish-born historical painter active in London, England, in the late 18th century.Tresham received his first art instruction from W. Ennis, a pupil of Robert West at the Dublin Art School...
, R.A., where he continued to reside until his death. He became a royal academician in 1808, and presented as his diploma work "Venus and Adonis" (exhibited the same year), perhaps the best of his creative subjects, apart from "Expulsion from Paradise". Meanwhile he rose steadily in public favour, and in 1806, painted the Prince of Wales
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
, the Marchioness of Stafford, the "Marquess of Stafford's Family", and Lord Thurlow
Baron Thurlow
Baron Thurlow, of Thurlow in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1792 for the lawyer and politician Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow, with remainder to his younger brothers and the heirs male of their bodies...
. In 1807 he sent to the Royal Academy the well-known portrait of William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, now in the National Portrait Gallery, London, which was engraved in line
Line engraving
Line engraving is a term for engraved images printed on paper to be used as prints or illustrations. The term is now much less used and when is, it is mainly in connection with 18th or 19th century commercial illustrations for magazines and books, or reproductions of paintings.Steel engraving is...
by Luigi Schiavonetti
Luigi Schiavonetti
Luigi Schiavonetti , Italian reproductive engraver and etcher, was born at Bassano in Venetia.After having studied art for several years he was employed by Testolini, an engraver of very indifferent abilities, to execute imitations of Bartolozzi's works, which he passed off as his own...
, and afterwards etched by William Bell Scott
William Bell Scott
William Bell Scott was a Scottish poet and artist.-Life:The son of Robert Scott , the engraver, and brother of David Scott, the painter, he was born in Edinburgh. While a young man he studied art and assisted his father, and he published verses in the Scottish magazines...
.
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
(engraved by Niccolo Schiavonetti), and to that of 1814, two portraits of Lord Byron (engraved by Robert Graves, A.R.A (1798–1873). In 1818 he exhibited a portrait of Sir Francis Chantrey, R.A., and, in 1819, that of the poet George Crabbe
George Crabbe
George Crabbe was an English poet and naturalist.-Biography:He was born in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, the son of a tax collector, and developed his love of poetry as a child. In 1768, he was apprenticed to a local doctor, who taught him little, and in 1771 he changed masters and moved to Woodbridge...
. In 1825 he was elected professor of painting at the Royal Academy, succeeding Henry Fuseli
Henry Fuseli
Henry Fuseli was a British painter, draughtsman, and writer on art, of Swiss origin.-Biography:...
, and, in order to qualify himself for his duties, visited Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in company with William Hilton
William Hilton
William Hilton , was an English portrait and history painter.-Life and work:Hilton was born in Lincoln, the son of a portrait-painter; he may be known as "William Hilton the Younger"...
, R. A., and also Sir David Wilkie
David Wilkie (artist)
Sir David Wilkie was a Scottish painter.- Early life :Wilkie was the son of the parish minister of Cults in Fife. He developed a love for art at an early age. In 1799, after he had attended school at Pitlessie, Kettle and Cupar, his father reluctantly agreed to his becoming a painter...
, whom they met in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. He resigned the professorship in 1832, and in 1833 published his "Lectures on the History and Principles of Painting".
Phillips also painted portraits of Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
, Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
, Thomas Campbell (poet), Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
, Henry Hallam
Henry Hallam
Henry Hallam was an English historian.-Life:The only son of John Hallam, canon of Windsor and dean of Bristol, Henry Hallam was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, graduating in 1799...
, Mary Somerville
Mary Somerville
Mary Fairfax Somerville was a Scottish science writer and polymath, at a time when women's participation in science was discouraged...
, Sir Edward Parry
Edward Parry
Admiral Sir William Edward Parry KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy and the Royal Indian Navy.During World War II, he served in the New Zealand Division commanding HMS Achilles at the Battle of the River Plate in December 1939...
, Sir John Franklin
John Franklin
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...
, Dixon Denham
Dixon Denham
Dixon Denham was an English explorer in West Central Africa.Denham was born in London. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, and was articled to a solicitor, but joined the army in 1811...
, the African traveller, and Hugh Clapperton
Hugh Clapperton
Hugh Clapperton was a Scottish traveller and explorer of West and Central Africa.He was born in Annan, Dumfriesshire, where his father was a surgeon. He gained some knowledge of practical mathematics and navigation, and at thirteen was apprenticed on board a vessel which traded between Liverpool...
. Besides these he painted two portraits of Sir David Wilkie
David Wilkie (artist)
Sir David Wilkie was a Scottish painter.- Early life :Wilkie was the son of the parish minister of Cults in Fife. He developed a love for art at an early age. In 1799, after he had attended school at Pitlessie, Kettle and Cupar, his father reluctantly agreed to his becoming a painter...
, the Duke of York (for the town-hall, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
), Dean William Buckland
William Buckland
The Very Rev. Dr William Buckland DD FRS was an English geologist, palaeontologist and Dean of Westminster, who wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, which he named Megalosaurus...
, Sir Humphry Davy
Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet FRS MRIA was a British chemist and inventor. He is probably best remembered today for his discoveries of several alkali and alkaline earth metals, as well as contributions to the discoveries of the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine...
, Samuel Rogers
Samuel Rogers
Samuel Rogers was an English poet, during his lifetime one of the most celebrated, although his fame has long since been eclipsed by his Romantic colleagues and friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron...
, Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
(engraved in mezzotint by Henry Cousins), Thomas Dalton, and a head of Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, painted in Paris in 1802, although not from actual sittings, yet with Empress Josephine's consent, who afforded him opportunities of observing the First Consul while at dinner. Years later in Paris, he was to portray his younger colleague Ary Scheffer
Ary Scheffer
Ary Scheffer , French painter of Dutch and German extraction, was born in Dordrecht.-Life:After the early death of his father Johann Baptist, a poor painter, Ary's mother Cornelia, herself a painter and daughter of landscapist Arie Lamme, took him to Paris and placed him in the studio of...
(ca. 1835, Musée de la Vie romantique
Musée de la Vie Romantique
The Musée de la Vie romantique stands at the foot of Montmartre hill in the IXe arrondissement, 16 rue Chaptal, Paris, France in a 1830 hôtel particulier facing two twin-studios, a greenhouse, a small garden, and a paved courtyard. The museum is open daily except Monday. Permanent collections are...
, Paris).
His own portrait, exhibited in 1844, was one of his latest works.
Phillips wrote many occasional essays on the fine arts, especially for Rees's "Cyclopaedia", and also a memoir of William Hogarth
William Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
for John Nichols's edition of that artist's "Works", 1808-17. He was a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and of the Society of Antiquaries
Society of Antiquaries of London
The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...
. He was also, with Chantrey, Turner, Robertson, and others, one of the founders of the Artists' General Benevolent Institution
Artists' General Benevolent Institution
The Artists' General Benevolent Institution is a British charity assisting professional artists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who are in financial difficulty due to illness, old age or accident. It was founded in 1814, being incorporated by Royal Charter in 1842. It is based in Burlington...
.
Phillips died at 8 George Street, Hanover Square, London, on 20 April 1845, and was interred in the burial-ground of St. John's Wood chapel. He married Elizabeth Fraser of Fairfield, near Inverness. They had two daughters and two sons, the elder of whom, Joseph Scott Phillips, became a major in the Bengal artillery, and died at Wimbledon
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, on 18 December 1884, aged 72. His younger son, Henry Wyndham Phillips
Henry Wyndham Phillips
Henry Wyndham Phillips was a British portrait painter.His father was the portraitist Thomas Phillips. Henry also produced and exhibited a small number of paintings of subjects from the Bible...
(1820–1868) was a portrait painter, secretary of the "Artists General Benevolent Institution", and captain in the Artists' volunteer corps.
Artist and illustrator, John William Wright
John William Wright
John William Wright was an English genre and portrait watercolour painter, and illustrator.-Life and work:Wright was born in London in 1802, the son of John Wright , a miniature painter of repute, acquainted with leading artists of the day such as John Hoppner, Thomas Lawrence and William Owen...
(1802–1848), was a pupil of Phillips.
External links
- Thomas Phillips online (ArtCyclopedia)
- Biography of Thomas Philips (The Walter Scott Digital Archive, Edinburgh University Library)