Credit: ©The Royal Society
Image number: RS.9650
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Portrait of William Swainson
Date
1837
Sitter
William Swainson (1789 - 1855, British) , Naturalist
Creator
Unknown, Artist
Object type
Image reference
Material
Dimensions
height (drawing): 126mm
width (drawing): 187mm
width (drawing): 187mm
Subject
Description
Three-quarter length portrait of Swainson, seated in an armchair, head and body angled to the viewer’s left.
William Swainson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1820.
William Swainson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1820.
Transcription
February 25th 1837 Tittenhanger
William Swainson F.R.S.
5,38
Paste this to back
William Swainson FRS F.L.S. mount up to edge of drawing
William Swainson F.R.S.
5,38
Paste this to back
William Swainson FRS F.L.S. mount up to edge of drawing
Object history
Presented by Sir David Prain, 10 June 1926.
The mount inscription notes the work’s former owner, the botanist and Royal Society President Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911), from whom it passed to the Scottish botanist Sir David Prain FRS (1857-1944) and from him to the Royal Society. The date of presentation (10 June 1926) corresponds to a meeting of the Royal Society’s Council, although the donation is not noted in the minutes.
J.D.Hooker’s father, William Jackson Hooker FRS (1785-1865) was well-known for collecting and commissioning portraits of fellow scientists, including by Sir Daniel McNee (1806-1882). The senior Hooker may have been the originator of this work, therefore.
The mount inscription notes the work’s former owner, the botanist and Royal Society President Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911), from whom it passed to the Scottish botanist Sir David Prain FRS (1857-1944) and from him to the Royal Society. The date of presentation (10 June 1926) corresponds to a meeting of the Royal Society’s Council, although the donation is not noted in the minutes.
J.D.Hooker’s father, William Jackson Hooker FRS (1785-1865) was well-known for collecting and commissioning portraits of fellow scientists, including by Sir Daniel McNee (1806-1882). The senior Hooker may have been the originator of this work, therefore.
Associated place