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    Return to "Faber" is linked to these Works 9 items
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    Thomas Smith, Esq, Vice Admiral of the White

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    Thomas Smith, Esq, Vice Admiral of the White
    Thomas Smith, Esq, Vice Admiral of the White
    Thomas Smith, Esq, Vice Admiral of the White
    Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
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    Artist
    John Faber the Younger (c.1684-1756) after Wilson
    Title
    Thomas Smith, Esq, Vice Admiral of the White
    Date
    1746 to 1756
    Medium
    Mezzotint on medium, slightly textured, cream wove paper
    Dimensions
    Metric: Sheet: 362 x 257 mm. Plate: 356 x 254 mm
    Imperial: Sheet: 14 1/4 x 10 1/8 in. Plate: 14 x 10 in.
    Collection
    Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection, New Haven. To license images click here
    Accession Number
    B1973.3.47
    Wilson Online Reference
    E1A
    Description
    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.
    Provenance
    Acquired 1973
    Signature/inscription
    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'
    Verso inscriptions
    None
    Subject
    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.
    Versions
    See 'Links' tab
    Related Paintings
    P9 Commodore Thomas Smith, Viscount Cobham
    P9A Commodore Thomas Smith, Natonal Maritime Musuem
    Critical commentary
    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).
    Previous Cat/Ref Nos
    Object ID: 23410
    Bibliography
    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)
    Condition/Conservation
    Unmounted. Trimmed almost to plate mark. Some small tears and missing corners. Some surface discolouration.

    Work of Art

    Drawings

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Study for the Portrait of Admiral Thomas Smith, National Galleries of Scotland

    Versions

    • John Faber the Younger (c.1684-1756)after Wilson, The Honble Thomas Smith, Esq., Rear Admiral of the Red, Private Collection, England
    • John Faber the Younger (c.1684-1756)after Wilson, Thomas Smith Esq., Vice Admiral of the White, The British Museum
    • John Faber the Younger (c.1684-1756)after Wilson, Thomas Smith, Esq., Vice Admiral of the White, National Portrait Gallery, London

    Paintings

    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Commodore Thomas Smith, Hagley Hall, Worcestershire
    • Richard Wilson (1713/14-1782), Admiral Thomas Smith, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

    Biographies

    • Admiral Thomas Smith (1707-1762)
    • Sir George (Lord) Lyttelton (1709-1773)
    • Paul Mellon (1907-1999)
    • John Faber the Younger (c.1684-1756)

    Documents

    • John Chaloner Smith, British Mezzotinto Portraits; being a Descriptive Catalogue of these Engravings from the Introduction of the Art to the early part of the present Century
    • Richard Wilson, Letter to Admiral Smith
    • Elizabeth Wilson, Letter to Admiral Smith
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