Sir Henry Charles Englefield, 7th Bt

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Sir Henry Charles Englefield, 7th Bt

by Thomas Phillips
oil on panel, 1815
12 5/8 in. x 9 7/8 in. (321 mm x 251 mm)
Given by Esmond Samuel de Beer, 1969
Primary Collection
NPG 4659

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Thomas Phillips (1770-1845), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 218 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.

This portraitback to top

This portrait’s acquisition illustrates the fundamental importance of the Gallery’s Reference Collection, which consists mainly of prints, in researching and authenticating portraits.
It was unidentified and catalogued only as ‘Portrait of a gentleman’ when it appeared at auction 29 January 1969. It was however signed and dated with Thomas Phillips’ monogram ‘TP 1815’. A member of Gallery staff compared it with contemporary engraved copies of Phillip’s’ portraits in the Gallery’s Reference Collection and was able to identify it as Englefield by comparison with a mezzotint by Charles Turner published on 20 October 1821.
Details in the portrait confirmed Englefield’s identity. These included the green stone specimen in his hand, a reference to his interest in geology, the Greek vase and bowl, both from his collection, and his family’s arms on the Gothic window.
Further proof was found in Phillips’ Sitters Book, a manuscript copy of which is held in the Gallery’s archive: ‘Dec 1815 Sr. H. Englefield Bt. 419 small’.
The portrait was found listed in the 1816 Royal Academy catalogue, but the Gallery had no further record of it until Coe’s sale. It was purchased by the art dealers Leggatt Brothers on behalf of the Gallery for £50, and was subsequently gifted by Esmond Samuel de Beer.
Before the advent of photography, it was common practice for engraved copies to be made of portraits of celebrities, often with the sitter’s and artist’s names beneath the image. The Gallery has collected prints since its founding and today the Reference Collection is an important resource for the study of portraiture.

Related worksback to top

  • NPG D5640: Sir Henry Charles Englefield, 7th Bt (source portrait)
  • NPG D32566: Sir Henry Charles Englefield, 7th Bt (source portrait)
  • NPG D32567: Sir Henry Charles Englefield, 7th Bt (source portrait)

Linked publicationsback to top

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1815back to top

Current affairs

John and James Leigh Hunt are released from prison after a two year sentence for slandering the Prince of Wales in their outspoken, radical periodical the Examiner.
Corn Laws are introduced to protect against the collapse in prices which would inevitably follow peace with France, prompting riots in London.

Art and science

Humphry Davy invents the miners' safety lamp though its reception is clouded by William Clanny and George Stephenson who present rival models in the same year.
British Institution arranges first in innovative series of Old Master exhibitions
provoking virulent attack on its patrons for neglecting contemporary art.

International

Napoleon returns to France from exile in Elba and resumes power until his abdication on 22 June; a period known as the 'Hundred Days'.
Battle of Waterloo concludes the Anglo-French struggle that had lasted more than a century. Peace of Vienna establishes Britain's global political, economic and imperial dominance which lasts for the next hundred years.

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