Credit: ©The Royal Society
    Image number: RS.9702
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    Portrait of Spencer Compton

    Date
    ca. 1845
    Sitter
    Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton (1790 - 1851, British) , Patron of science
    Creator
    Thomas Phillips (1770 - 1845, British) , Painter
    Henry Wyndham Phillips (1820 - 1868, British) , Painter
    Object type
    Archive reference number
    Material
    Dimensions
    height (painting): 1282mm
    width (painting): 1027mm
    Subject
    Content object
    clothing
       > accessory
          > glasses
    Description
    Half-length portrait of Spencer Compton, standing, half-turned to the left as viewed. Northampton’s right hand is holding an upright paper-bound book on a table covered with a red patterned cloth and papers. In his left hand he holds spectacles [?] hanging from his neck by a black ribbon. Northampton wears a black coat over a black suit, with a white, high collared shirt and tie. On a chair behind and to the right as viewed, his ermine robes have been casually thrown over a chair. To the left is an architectural pillar with a landscape beyond it.

    Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, 2nd Marquess of Northampton (1790 - 1851), British patron of science, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1830. He served as the Society's President from 1838-1848.
    Transcription
    THE MARQUIS OF NORTHAMPTON. By T.PHILLIPS
    Object history
    Presented by the sitter, c.1849.

    The purchase is recorded in the annual printed list of presents in Philosophical Transactions in which the work is attributed to Thomas Phillips. [“Presents received by the Royal Society, with the names of the donors. From November 1848 to June 1849.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol. 139 (1849), supplement, p.13]. However, a print of the work by William Walker, published on 25 November 1848 in the Society’s colections.. “Engraved by Wm. Walker from a Picture by the late T.Phillips R.A. & Henry W.Phillips.” This may refer to another copy of the original painting, but may imply that the work was painted in part, or completed by Henry Wyndham Phillips (1820-1868) after his father’s death. If so, this would effectively date the picture. [Mezzotint, “Spencer-Joshua-Alwyne Compton...”, by William Walker (1791-1867) English engraver, 25 November 1848, Royal Society large engravings, IM/003345].
    Associated place
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          > United Kingdom
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