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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.
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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.