Joshua Brookes

Joshua Brookes, by Thomas Phillips, 1815 -NPG 5002 - © National Portrait Gallery, London

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Regency Portraits Catalogue

Joshua Brookes

by Thomas Phillips
1815
55 3/4 in. x 44 1/2 in. (1416 mm x 1130 mm)
NPG 5002

This portraitback to top

The portrait first appears in 1815 in Phillips's Sitter Book as 'Mr Brookes anatist Dec 1815 l.h.l.' (large half-length), and according to a note in the RA catalogue 1817 (163) it was 'painted by desire of the Students of Anatomy under his tuition'. More than 5000 students were taught by him in the course of the 40 years at his school in Blenheim Street where the Brookesian Museum was housed; a watercolour drawing of this, by G. M., 25 June 1817, is in the Royal College of Surgeons, London (320).

Physical descriptionback to top

Nearly whole-length seated to left, quill in right hand, illustrated atlas of anatomy open on a green-baize covered desk, a large animal corpse behind; high-backed chair with green upholstery; brown coat, white collar and shirt-frill; grey hair and whiskers, dark blue eyes, fresh complexion; plain grey background with books and embryo in specimen jar.

Provenanceback to top

Himself and his son J. Rowland Brookes; Christie's 26 September 1974 (21) bought Leggatt for the NPG.

Exhibitionsback to top

RA 1817 (163); Third Exhibition of National Portraits, South Kensington, 1868 (17) lent by J. Rowland Brookes.

Reproductionsback to top

Large line by Fittler 1 June 1818 (re-issued 1822) lettered: JOSHUA BROOKES, F.R.S. F.L.S./COLL. REG. CHIR. LOND. SOC. (arms of Brookes family, heron with eel and motto 'ferre gratias cupio') SOC. CAES. NAT. CUR. MOSQ. SOC. etc. &c.; the text of the anatomy book in reversed Greek letters. Stipple by H. Cook for Jerdan's National Portrait Gallery, 1833.


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

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