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Thomas Smith, Esq, Vice Admiral of the White
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
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John Faber the Younger (c.1684-1756) after Wilson
Thomas Smith, Esq, Vice Admiral of the White
1746 to 1756
Mezzotint on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper
Sheet: 362 x 257 mm. Plate: 356 x 254 mm
Sheet: 14 1/4 x 10 1/8 in. Plate: 14 x 10 in.
B1973.3.47
E1A
Portrait of Thomas Smith (1707-1762) three-quarter length, standing leaning with his left elbow on the base of a broken column, holding a telescope in front of him, left knee bent and advanced, right hand on hip, wearing a coat with large decorations round the buttons, open over a silk jacket and a long wig, distant sails in background to the left.
Acquired 1973
Lettered with title, 'Thomas Smith Esq. [continuing] Vice Admiral of ye White / Commander in Chief of his Majesty's Ships on the Coast of Scotland, Anno 1746', a heraldic achievement with the motto 'Ung Dieu et Ung Roy', and 'R. Wilson pinxt. | I. Faber fecit | Price 2s. London. Price 2s. London, Printed for R. Sayer, I. Ryal & R.Withy in Fleet Street'
None
Thomas Smith (1707- 1762 ) was a British admiral and colonial governor, credited with the invention of the divisional system that remains in use on ships today.
See 'Links' tab
P9 Commodore Thomas Smith, Viscount Cobham
P9A Commodore Thomas Smith, Natonal Maritime Musuem
The sitter's great-nephew, John Thomas Smith, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, mentions 'a spirited half-length portrait, painted by the celebrated Richard Wilson [...] from which picture there is an excellent engraving in mezzotinto, by Faber.' (see bibliography).
Object ID: 23410
J.T. Smith, A Book for a Rainy Day, 1845, pp. 3-4; Chaloner Smith, vol. 1, p. 426, cat. 333, state I; Russell p. 96, cat. 333, state 1; sale cat., The Lyttelton Papers, Sotheby's London, 12 December 1978 p.101 (cat. 79)
Unmounted. Trimmed almost to plate mark. Some small tears and missing corners. Some surface discolouration.