Sir Thomas Robinson, 1st Bt

1 portrait of Sir Thomas Robinson, 1st Bt

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Sir Thomas Robinson, 1st Bt

by Frans van der Mijn (or Myn)
oil on canvas, 1750
49 7/8 in. x 40 1/8 in. (1267 mm x 1019 mm)
Purchased, 1979
Primary Collection
NPG 5275

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Dressed in the height of fashion, Robinson is shown as man of taste, learning and 'sensibility' - the cult of sensitivity and emotional expression that was just taking hold across Europe. He reads a volume of poetry by his first wife, Elizabeth Lechmere, who died in 1739. Robinson probably commissioned this portrait, painted in 1750. Conservation of this portrait has been supported by Giancarla and Michael Alen-Buckley.

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Events of 1750back to top

Current affairs

Notorious highwayman James MacLaine is apprehended and hanged at Tyburn, having passed in society as a wealthy gentleman for two years.
Scottish landlords start evicting tenants in the Highland Clearances.
Westminster Bridge is opened, the only fixed crossing of the River Thames between London Bridge and Putney.
Iron Act is passed restricting the manufacture of iron products in the American colonies.

Art and science

Electrician and experimental philosopher John Canton reads a paper before the Royal Society on a method of making artificial magnets.
Writer Samuel Johnson begins publishing his periodical The Rambler.
Artist Joshua Reynolds travels to Italy, where he remains until 1752.
Establishment of the Jockey Club; a gentleman's club which took over the regulation of British horse racing.

International

Composer Johann Sebastian Bach dies in Leipzig. He completes his Mass in B Minor, worked on over many years, shortly before his death.

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