James Thomson

Inscriptionback to top

Incised Scotland gave me birth/England a Grave/I Sung the Seasons.

This portraitback to top

Ascribed to Rysbrack by the vendor, but no sculpture of Thomson by him is known, and NPG 4896 bears little resemblance to his work. This posthumous tablet, with thrusting chin, seems to be based on the Patoun type, and is the only known eighteenth-century sculpture of the sitter, apart from the figure on the monument in Westminster Abbey by M. H. Spang, c.1760. [1] Its form and condition suggest it was made for an outdoor setting.

Footnotesback to top

1) R. Gunnis, Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851, 1953, p 361.

Physical descriptionback to top

Arched eyebrows, long eyelids, pupils incised, strong chin; loose-fitting cap, open shirt, cloak or drapery in fold over chest.

Conservationback to top

Tip of nose missing, weathered, temple discoloured.

Provenanceback to top

Bought, 1972, through David Peel and Co, Christie's, 20 June, lot 197; from the collection of A. G. Kilroy, previous history unknown.


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Kerslake, Early Georgian Portraits, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1977, 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.

View all known portraits for James Thomson