Lot 193
SAMUEL LAURENCE (BRITISH 1812-1884)
HALF LENGTH PORTRAIT OF THOMAS CARLYLE LEANING ON A STAFF
Auction: Five Centuries Day One | Wed 9th September | Lots 1 to 255
Description
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
85cm x 71cm (33.5in x 28in)
Provenance
James Carlyle (1805–1890), youngest brother of Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881);
Thence by direct descent to his great granddaughter Jane Welsh Carlyle Armstrong (Born 1909 in Eskholm, Rosevale Street, Langholm), offered for sale by the executors of her late son's estate.
Footnote
This portrait, and the companion portrait of Mrs Carlyle, have been passed down directly through the Carlyle family. The original portrait of Thomas Carlyle by Laurence does appear in an engraving of 1838 by John Carr Armytage held in the National Portrait Gallery [Madame D'Arblay Diary, 1778-1840 (volume 6, part 1), NPG D15737] and is an exact match for the composition of the present work. There do not appear to be any known period copies in public collections. The present work, and companion portrait, were shown to the Keeper of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Dr Duncan Thomson HRSA, in 1984 (Stated in written correspondences from family papers) and he considered both “to be of national importance”. It is therefore believed that the present work is the original painted by Laurence in circa 1838, not a period or later copy.