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The life of Charles Philips (1703–1747) with a checklist of his known works

 

 

 

Rodney Griffiths

 

 

Charles Philips’s father, Richard (1680–1741), was born at Chesham, Buckinghamshire, into a modestly wealthy family.[1] In 1695, when Richard was fifteen, his father sent him to London to spend seven years serving as an apprentice to Richard Barwell of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers. Upon completing his apprenticeship in 1702, Richard set up a millinery business in Poultry, London, and later the same year he married Martha Elliston (1683–1743), daughter of John Elliston, a prosperous merchant of West Malling in Kent [2] Richard and Martha had five children, the younger three of whom died in infancy. Their eldest child, Charles Philips (1703–1747), the subject of this article, was baptized on 8 May 1703 at St Mildreds, Poultry, as was his younger sister, Carola Elizabetha, 1704–1780, the following year.[3] Several secondary sources have stated that Charles was born in 1708, but one suspects that the reason for this is that his marriage licence of 1737 states that Charles was then twenty-nine years of age, which is incorrect, as he was then actually aged thirty-four.

Richard’s millinery business seems to have prospered, and in 1705 he took on an apprentice, Ann Knight. But Richard’s passion was not for millinery but for art and at that time drawing portraits. By 1719 he had taken to painting in oils – forsaking millinery, he moved to premises in Great Queen Street where he began a career as a professional portrait painter. [4] This house became the home and studio of Richard and Charles and their families for the remainder of their lives. Two apprentices, Ranelagh Barrett (1701–1768) from 1720,[5] and William Shipley (1715–1803) from 1731,[6] trained under Richard (and not Charles as sometimes wrongly asserted) – as we also suppose did his son Charles. Richard flourished between 1719 and 1731, but in the competitive world of scale-of-life portraiture in London his commissions were few.

By 1730 Charles Philips was ready to embark upon his own artistic career, but knowing how difficult it had been for his father to secure commissions for scale-of-life portraiture he began painting group-portraits in the genre known as the conversation piece (Pl 1, Pl 2)[7] – portraits of a family or group of friends depicted whole-length and on a small scale in discourse or some other activity between themselves – a genre that had been recently popularised in Britain by William Hogarth (1697–1764) and Gawen Hamilton (c1697–1737).[8]

 

 

The illustrations are of works by Charles Philips (1703–1747)

1 Tea party at Lord Harrington’s house, St James’s. Oil on canvas, 40.25 x 49.75 in. Yale Center for British Art, B1981.25.503 [checklist, Identified 49]

 

A group of people in dresses Description automatically generated

 

2 The Frederick family, standing on a terrace, c1734. Oil on canvas, 35 x 43.75 in.
Christie’s, New York, 26 January 2005, Lot 233 [checklist, Identified 41]

 

 

George Vertue (1684–1756), the great chronicler of the London art world in the first half of the 18th century, noted of Philips:

in painting small figure portraits & conversations [he] has met with great encouragement amongst People of Fashion – even some of ye Royal Family.[9]

He later remarks:

I observe the most elevated Men in Art here now, are the lowest of stature – particularly… Mr Philips Jun. Painter Conversations… these Gent. are five foot, men or less.[10]

Among several other diminutive artists he names Hogarth and Hamilton.

Charles’s first known dated works are from 1730, and in the ensuing decade in excess of 180 of his works are recorded, of which almost one third are conversation pieces, many of which he signed and dated (Pl 3, Pl 4).

 

A painting of two people and two children Description automatically generated

 

3 Portrait of a gentleman, his wife and their three children standing on a terrace, a frigate of the Blue Squadron beyond, c1734. Oil on canvas, 28.5 x 28.5 in.
Christie’s, New York, 20 October 1988, Lot 187 [checklist, Unidentified 52]

 

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4 Portrait of two gentlemen, full-length, one seated on a red scroll back chair, in an interior, a bust beyond. Oil on canvas, 28.75 x 24 in. Sotheby’s, London, 9 July 2009, Lot 7 [checklist, Unidentified 4]

 

 

In contrast to his father, Charles had no shortage of commissions. Since no works are known by Richard after 1731 it is likely that he spent the final decade of his life assisting his son Charles to fulfil his abundant commissions. The reason for Charles’s marked success seems threefold: first, the market for conversation pieces had already been stimulated by Hogarth and Hamilton, each having completed their first work in this genre in 1728; secondly, Charles depicted his sitters in uncluttered rooms and painted in bright colours that seemed to appeal to his clients; thirdly, Hogarth with his abrupt manner and distain for flattery, and Hamilton with his Scottish roots at a time of Jacobite unrest, were probably not to the liking of many potential clients. For these reasons it was Charles Philips who received numerous commissions from royalty and the nobility. Hugh Belsey notes of him, however:

Despite his success in gaining aristocratic commissions, his handling of paint and portrayal of the psychological relationship between the sitters were less sophisticated than those of his Scottish contemporary Gawen Hamilton.[11]

In 1738 Charles Philips married the 17-year-old heiress Mary Freeman (1720–1755), the daughter of the late Thomas Freeman, a wealthy plantation owner of Antigua. A contemporary newspaper announcement reads:

On Saturday last Mr. Charles Philips, of Great Queen-street, Lincoln’s-Inn-Fields, was marry’d at John Helden’s, Esq; in Egham, Surrey, to Miss Freeman, Daughter of Thomas Freeman, Esq; of Antigua, a beautiful Lady of great Merit, and a very considerable Fortune.[12]

Just three weeks later John Helden died. The Gentleman’s Magazine carried the following death notice:

John Helden, Esq; at Egham in the County of Surrey; He lived many Years in the Island of St Christophers where he was one of the Council and Collector of the Customs in the Reign of Q. Ann and the late K. George; he came from thence in the Year 1730, and had lately made a Purchase at Egham, where he lived much beloved and died greatly lamented.[13]

‘St Christophers’, known today as St Kitts, is, like Antigua, a part of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. Philips painted a portrait of Helden’s daughter, Mary (1726–1766), with her dog and a black page, life size, in 1739.

The Bishop’s Transcripts of St John the Baptist, Egham, Surrey, record that Charles and Mary were married, by licence, on 22 January 1738. Their marriage allegation, held in the Vicar-General’s Office, contains the oath of John Yeamans stating that he is the testamentary guardian of Mary Freeman and that he consents to the marriage. Mary’s father had died in 1736 and her mother was stated as being ‘over seas’, presumably in Antigua. The couple had four children, Charles Philips, who was born on 15 January 1739; Nathaniel Philips (1740–1784); Martha Byam Philips (1742–1801); and Richard Elliston Philips (1745–1813).

Perhaps the most perplexing aspect of Charles Philips’s life is why his artistic output diminished drastically after 1740. One suggestion was that he may have travelled abroad, and Phyllis Braff stating that Charles Philips ‘visited Williamsburg, Virginia, ca. 1740’.[14] No source for this assertion is given but it seems to derive from a work, reputedly by Philips, owned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, which at the time was thought to portray a Williamsburg family in their home; but it has more recently been said to depict an English family group. American newspapers and ship’s passenger lists have been searched and no evidence has been forthcoming that Philips ever visited America.

By the late 1730s the taste for conversation pieces began to wane: around 1738 Hogarth turned to scale-of-life portraiture and Hamilton had died in 1737. But by the late 1730s Charles Philips seemed to be at a high point in his career – Whitley remarks of him, ‘that he ranked high in contemporary opinion is to be found in the complimentary verses published in the magazines of the day of which the following is a characteristic example’ (‘Carlisle’ refers to Philips’s portrait of the 4th Earl of Carlisle):

Philips! With wonder all allow,
Thy hand hath shown what art can do;
Great Carlisle’s form by thee exprest,
Lives in thy finished lines confest:
There light and shade so justly strike,
The more we view the more we like.
Let others boast the skill to trace
Some faint resemblance of a face;
’Tis thine, rare artist, to impart
The beauties that adorn the heart;
Oh! Might my colours glow like thine,
And equal thus the great design![15]

 

A painting of a person in a red robe Description automatically generated

 

5 Frederick, Prince of Wales. Oil on canvas, 19.25 x 14.13 in.
Yale Center for British Art, B1981.25.504 [checklist, Identified 36]

 

 

Philips had also received multiple royal commissions from Frederick, Prince of Wales (Pl 5),[16] several of which he executed on the scale-of-life. A newspaper reported:

On Wednesday last the Pictures of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and that of her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, painted by Mr. Charles Philips, were hung up at Sadler’s-Hall in Cheapside.[17]

But Charles faced tough competition in this larger scale of portraiture and, as only a moderate artist, like his father Richard before him, he found commissions less forthcoming. Evidence of his turning to paint on a larger scale is provided in a letter he wrote to a patron in 1743 in which he offered for sale a picture of his own, saying:

It is in the cast of Watteau, a pleasant picture nine foot high by twelve foot long, and will look as handsome as the best tapestry.[18]

There are very few works signed and dated by Charles Philips that belong to the 1740s, although his will mentions four family portraits, presumably by him, that may also have been painted in that decade. Moreover, 1740 saw the arrival in London of both Arthur Devis (1712–1787) and Edward Haytley (1713–1762), who were dominant in the British market for small-scale whole-length portraits and conversation pieces in the following two decades.[19] Ralph Edwards remarked:

Devis’s conversations recall, but only remotely, Charles Philips’s packed assemblies, for he too represents his patrons as little doll-like figures formally posed; but they are much more delicately fashioned and their individual characters are closely observed… he is a far better artist than Philips. [20]

Although the 1740s provided Charles with little earned income he was in a much stronger financial position than many of his fellow-artists. In 1741 his wife Mary reached 21 years of age and under the terms of her father’s will received a bequest of £1,500 that her father, who had died in 1736, had left her.[21] Then, in 1746, Charles’s maternal grandfather, John Elliston, died bequeathing generous legacies to Charles and his children. [22]

At just 44 years old, Charles Philips died on 20 November 1747 and in his will made on 20 October 1747 he began:

… being something Indisposed as to my Bodily health but of sound and disposing mind Memory and understanding.[23]

A newspaper reported his death:

A few Days since died, at his Brother-in Law’s, at Laleham in Surrey, Mr. Charles Philips, an eminent Limner.[24]

Charles’s widow, Mary, remarried to the Revd Thomas Beighton, vicar of Egham, in 1750 and died herself, without further issue, in 1755.[25] Beighton died in 1771 and was buried at St John the Baptist, Egham, where a monumental inscription to his memory, written by his friend David Garrick, the famous actor and impresario, remains today (Pl 6).

 

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6 Wall monument to the Revd Thomas Beighton, Vicar of Egham,
with inscription by David Garrick. St Philip’s, Egham, Surrey

 

 

Additional observations

In his Will written on 20 October 1747 and proved 23 November 1747 Philips bequeaths to his wife Mary several portraits which include one of herself, one of her mother, her children’s portraits and one of her brother.[26] These would almost certainly have been painted by Charles Philips but are currently untraced.

There is a portrait in the Manx Museum, Isle of Man, of Thomas Wilson DD, Bishop of Sodor and Man, that the Museum maintains is by Charles Philips. This is not the case – a mezzotint engraved by Simon in the 1720s27 after this portrait has Ri. Phillips Pinx inscribed below it, which one assumes alludes to Richard Phillips,28 Charles’s father. There is no known work of Charles Philips that with certainty can be given a date before 1730.

 

 

A checklist of the known works of Charles Phillips

 

A painting of a person in a white dress Description automatically generated

 

7 Portrait of a lady in a landscape, wearing a white silk dress, holding a flower,
with a book on a bank beside her. Oil on canvas, 20.5 x 16.5 in.
Bonham’s, London, 2 November 2016, Lot 222 [checklist, Unidentified 24]

 

 

This checklist comprises the known works that have been described as ‘by’ or ‘attributed to’ Charles Philips, excepting those I have rejected as not being consistent with his hand. Works described as ‘circle of’, ‘studio of’, ‘follower of’ or ‘in the style or manner of’, have not been included. Each entry gives the title of the work, the likely date of creation and whether it bears the artist’s signature. Unless stated to the contrary, all works are oil on canvas. Canvas sizes are quoted in inches. Where the owner or location of the painting is known it is given, or alternatively, if known, details of a public auction at which it may have appeared. Accession numbers are given for works held in public collections.

 

 

Identified sitters

 

  1. Algernon, 7th Duke of Somerset, with his family. Signed and dated ‘C. Philips pinxit 1732’, 29.5 x 36 in. Duke of Northumberland, Alnwick Castle
  2. Mrs Thomas Ashby as a child with Quenby Hall, Leicester, in the background. A girl in a landscape touching a lamb with a small dog in front of her and a country house beyond
  3. Augusta, Princess of Wales. Full-length, seated with her baby on her lap, signed and dated 1737. 94.75 x 59.25 in. Warwick Castle
  4. Augusta, Princess of Wales. Full-length, signed and dated 1737, 94.75 x 59 in. Christies, London, 4 December 1931, Lot 25, and shortly thereafter into the Royal Collection, Windsor Castle (3073)
  5. Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales. Three-quarter length, signed, c1736. 50.25 x 40 in. National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG2093
  6. Portrait of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales Standing full length in a white gown, Signed and dated 1736. 23 x 15 in. Christies, London, 15 September 1994, Lot 12
  7. Portrait of Augusta, Princess of Wales. Wearing a red bodice and an ermine lined cloak, 84 x 49 in, Christie’s, London, 22 November 1974, Lot 102
  8. Portrait of Princess Augusta Charlotte as a baby, with Britannia. Eldest daughter of Frederick and Augusta, Prince and Princess of Wales, signed, 1737 or 1738. 50 x 40 in. With Philip Mould 2014
  9. Portrait of William, 1st Viscount Bateman. Standing, richly dressed, in an interior with his plumed hat on a table beside him. 29 x 18.5 in
  10. Peter Bathurst M.P. and his secretary. Both seated in an interior, it has been suggested that the sitter may be Thomas Thynne, Lord Weymouth. 22.75 x 21 in. Nicholson Auctioneers, Haslemere, UK, 28 June 2017, Lot 274
  11. Portrait of Sir Thomas and Lady Beauchamp. In a landscape with a dog and a parrot, signed and dated 1742. 49.5 x 62 in. Christie’s, London, 28 February 1936, Lot 94
  12. Thomas Becke. 30.3 x 25.2 in. Art & Archaeology in Lincolnshire, Usher Gallery, LCNUG 1927.2250
  13. Lady Elizabeth (Betty) Berkeley, Lady Germain. Signed and dated 1731. 15.7 x 11.6 in, National Trust, Knole, Kent, NT129847
  14. John Brewster the Younger. 1737. 29.9 x 24.9 in, Hereford Museum and Art Gallery, 5374
  15. Portrait of Nathaniel Booth, Lord Delamer. Signed and dated 1737. 53.9 x 35.8 in. Leslie Hindman Inc., Atlanta, USA, 25 April 2019, Lot 24
  16. Alexander (Sandy) Brodie, Later 20th Laird, as a child, with a dog. 14.0 x 11.5 in. The National Trust for Scotland, Brodie Castle, 73.67
  17. Francis, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch. Standing beside a seated gentleman and two standing boys outside a portico. 29.5 x 49.5 in. In the Broughton Collection in 1954
  18. Hannah Chambers, wife of Thomas Chambers and mother of Lady Exeter. Seated full-length at an ornate table with an open book upon it. 20.25 x 15.5 in. Sotheby’s, London, 18 July 1979, Lot 69
  19. William Cheselden giving an anatomical demonstration, c1730–1739. 23.8 x 34.1 in. Wellcome Collection, London
  20. Portrait of Robert Claydon seated in clerical robes. 50 x 40.5 in. Christie’s, London, 8 May 2008, Lot 16
  21. Portrait of Thomas Congreve. Standing beside a horse and groom, signed and dated 1739. 18.5 x 23.5 in. National Gallery of Ireland, 4344 A pair with checklist no. 22
  22. Portrait of Mrs Congreve Standing beside a horse and groom, signed and dated 1739. 18.5 x 23.5 in. National Gallery of Ireland, 4345. A pair with checklist no. 21
  23. The 5th Earl of Coventry and his family in a landscape, c1730. 28 x 36 in. National Trust, Croome Park, Worcestshire, NT170911. This work was previously attributed to Gawen Hamilton but the National Trust have recently revised this attribution and have now given it to Charles Philips
  24. The Cromwell and Thornhill families taking tea, c1730. 28 x 35 in. Cromwell Museum, HUTCM: B16
  25. The Duke of Cumberland and Lord Cathcart at the Battle of Culloden. Full-length, small figures on horseback in military uniform, troops in distance. 50 x 40 in. 2nd Exhibition of National Portraits, South Kensington Museum, 1867, No. 281
  26. Portrait of Sir Peter and Lady Denis. Depicted in a coastal landscape with a man-o’-war beyond. 21.5 x 24.5 in. Christie’s, London, 25 November 1977, Lot 76
  27. William, 5th Lord Digby with his family at Sherborne Castle. Sherborne Castle, Dorset. For many years thought to be by Gawen Hamilton but more recently attributed to Charles Philips
  28. William Draper of Beswick, Yorkshire, a great lover of fox hunting Aged 66, 1736. 50.0 x 39.8 in. Bridport Salesrooms, Dorset, UK, 16 March 2023, Lot 322
  29. The Edwards family on a terrace. Signed and dated 1732. 28.75 x 36 i. Sotheby’s, London, 15 June 2000, Lot 156
  30. Anne Egerton, Countess of Jersey. Standing full length in an interior at the top of a flight of steps, a white dove perched on her right hand. Photograph in Frick Art Reference Library, New York
  31. Anne Egerton, Countess of Jersey. Standing full length in an interior with a chequered marble floor and pillars, a small dog prancing at her feet. Photograph in Frick Art Reference Library, New York
  32. Sir Abraham Elton, 3rd Bt. Seated, signed and dated 1732. 20 x 15.75 in, National Trust, Clevedon Court, Somerset, NT624136
  33. Portrait of Martha FitzHerbert, three-quarter length, wearing white, in a landscape, 1741, signed. 49.2 x 40.2 in. Woolley & Wallis, Salisbury, Wiltshire, 11 September 2018, Lot 178
  34. William Fitzroy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland (1697–1774). Standing three-quarter length with shotgun resting on one arm and head of dog looking up, signed and dated 173–. 44 x 43.5 in. Collection of Lord Barnard, Raby Castle, Co Durham
  35. Frederick, Prince of Wales, 1737. Full-length. 94.75 x 59.25 in. Royal Collection, 3072
  36. Frederick, Prince of Wales. Standing in an interior wearing a red coat and matching waistcoat, signed and dated 1731. 19.25 x 14.13 in. Yale Center for British Art, B1981.25.504
  37. HRH Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales, c1737, signed. Standing three-quarter length with hand on his right hip. 48.4 x 39.8 in. The Library and Museum of Freemasonry, M2010.1344, purchased 1927. A painting after this portrait, but reversed (hand on left hip) was Sotheby’s, London, 12 June 1996, Lot 446
  38. Frederick, Prince of Wales, c1736. Full-length, red coat, gold waistcoat, standing in a Palladian garden. 26.5 x 17 in, John Nicholson Auctioneers, Haslemere, 31 October 2018, Lot 256
  39. Frederick, Prince of Wales, with the members of ‘La Table Ronde’. Signed and dated 1732. 50.2 x 40.3 in. Royal Collection RCIN406101
  40. The ‘Henry the Fifth’ Club or ‘the Gang’, c1730–5. 28.5 x 35.6 in. Royal Collection RCIN 405737
  41. The Frederick family, standing on a terrace, c1734. 35 x 43.75 in. Christie’s, New York, 26 January 2005, Lot 233
  42. Thomas Frewen. A small-scale whole-length portrait, signed and dated 1734. 18.5 x 13.5 in. Brickwall House, East Sussex. A pair with checklist no. 43
  43. Martha Frewen. A small-scale whole-length portrait, signed and dated 1734. 18.5 x 13.5 in. Brickwall House, East Sussex. A pair with no. 42
  44. George II, in the library of St James’s Palace. 44.1 x 33.9 in. English Heritage, Marble Hill House, 88029328
  45. Lady Harriet or Henrietta Gordon, 2nd Wife of Robert Gordon of Hallhead. Child standing in a parkland with a dog to her right, holding flowers in her left hand. Photograph in Frick Art Reference Library, New York
  46. William Gylby. 1740. Seated in a chair. 48.8 x 39.4 in. Lincoln Guildhall
  47. Family Group of Lord and Lady Archibald Hamilton and children. Small full-length figures, seated and standing in a lofty room, signed and dated 1731. 37 x 50 in. 2nd Exhibition of National Portraits, South Kensington Museum, 1867, No. 276
  48. Portrait of an unknown gentleman (said to be George Frideric Handel), c1740, 46.1 x 36.6 in. Royal Academy of Music, 2003.1043
  49. Tea Pparty at Lord Harrington’s house, St James’s. Signed and dated 1730. 40.25 x 49.75 in. Yale Center for British Art, B1981.25.503
  50. Mary Helden with her dog and her black page, ‘Sambo’, 1739. 91.5 x 58.1 in. National Trust, Sprivers, Kent, 863685
  51. Henrietta Louisa, Countess of Pomfret. Register of Conditionally Exempt Works of Art, HM Revenue and Customs
  52. Portrait of Henry Noel, 6th Earl of Gainsborough. 49 x 39 in. Christie’s, London, 18 November 1988, Lot 120
  53. Portrait of the Revd M. Hill at a table with books open beside him. 29.5 x 24.25 in. Christie’s, London, 17 July 1992, Lot 64
  54. Thomas Hill of Tern and his family in a landscape. Sitter with his first wife and three children. Inscribed ‘C Philips :pinxit./1730’. 34.5 x 43.5 in. National Trust, Attingham Park, Shropshire, NT609053
  55. The Rt. Hon. John Jeffreys, Baron of Wem, and the Rt. Hon. Charlotte Herbert with their son and daughter. Standing full-length beside a fire-place, inscribed and indistinctly dated. 25 x 30 in. Christie’s, London, 15 April 1977, Lot 22
  56. Johann Adolf, Duke of Saxe-Gotha. The brother of Augusta, Princess of Wales, shown wearing armour. Signed and dated 1742. 50.4 x 40 in. Royal Collection, RCIN 407543
  57. Portrait of Lady Augusta Kearney. Dressed as a shepherdess with her flock in the background. 30 x 25 in. Christie’s, London, 27 March 1981, Lot124
  58. Portrait of a King’s Messenger. 35.75 x 28 in. Darnley Fine Art, London, 2020
  59. Bridget, Duchess of Leeds, and Lady Catherine Hyde. Both depicted full-length seated on a bench in a park with Lady Catherine holding a cockatoo on her left hand. Signed and dated 1732. 29 x 40.5 in, Duke of Buccleuch Collection, Drumlanrig Castle, Scotland
  60. Group portrait of members of the Leheup, Lowndes and Barrington families, c1737. 39.2 x 49 in. Christies, London, 8 April 1998, Lot 13
  61. Portrait of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond and Lennox (1701–1750). Full-length wearing black with Ribbon and Star of the Garter. 29.25 x 24 in. Goodwood House Collection
  62. Portrait of Mathew Lynch of Drumcong House, County Galway. 15 x 12.25 in. Christie’s, New York, 21 May 1992, Lot 134. A pair with checklist no. 63
  63. Portrait of Mrs Mathew Lynch of Drumcong House, County Galway. 15 x 12.25 in, Christie’s. New York, 21 May 1992, Lot 134. Pair with no. 62
  64. Sir Archibald Marjoribanks. Standing full-length in a landscape, supporting a shotgun. 16 x 13 in. Sotheby’s London, 21 March 1979, Lot 73
  65. Portrait of a lady said to be the daughter of the Duke of Marlborough. Standing three-quarter length in a landscape. Signed and dated 1740. 49.25 x 39 in. Christie’s, London, 13 February 1981, Lot 12 (according to Heinz Archive file, when Christie’s offered the same picture in New York on 12 June 1981, Lot 62, it was said to be dated 1745)
  66. Portrait of Mrs J. Mathews. Standing full-length by a table, inscribed on a letter. 20.5 x 16.5 in. Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 13 January 1978, Lot 156
  67. Portrait of the Mignon family in an interior. A man, his wife and four children on a terrace, a tripod table with a plate of fruit before them. 39 x 49 in. Sotheby’s, London, 16 July 1975, Lot 61
  68. John, 2nd Duke of Montagu. Seated full-length dressed in fine clothes with a dog. 30 x 25 in. Sotheby’s, London, 12 November 1980, Lot 35
  69. Portrait of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Wearing a gold and white dress with an ermine trimmed cloak. 13 x 9.5 in. Christie’s, London, 23 May 1958, Lot 51
  70. Portrait of a gentleman of the Noirey family. Shown standing full length in a grey frock coat. Bears Zoffany’s signature. 24.3 x 16.3 in. Christie’s, South Kensington, 25 November 1981, Lot 129
  71. Portrait of 1st Earl of Orford. Christie’s, London, 9 May 1952, Lot 77
  72. Charles Pilfield. Standing full-length in a landscape. 20 x 15.5 in. Christie’s, London, 29 September 1977, Lot 54
  73. George Pitt (1663–1734/5) of Stratfield Saye, with his family. Eleven sitters full-length in a parkland, c1732. 40 x 45.5 in. collection of Colonel Lane-Fox, Bramham Park
  74. Portrait of Thomas Plampion of Showell, Leicestershire. Standing three-quarters length with a dog. Signed and dated 1735. 49.5 x 39.8 in. Sotheby’s Arcade, 15 January 1986, Lot 144
  75. Tea party at the Countess of Portland’s. Signed and dated 1732. 44.25 x 52.0 in. Exh. ‘Painting and Sculpture in England 1700–1750’, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 1958, No. 36
  76. Charles, 3rd Duke of Queensberry with an oval portrait beside him. Standing on a terrace in a red coat. 29 x 24 in. Christies, London, 19 November 1965, Lot 13
  77. Portrait of Edward Repington of Amington Park, 1737. 50.1 x 40.6 in. Christie’s, London, 9 March 2005, Lot 18
  78. The Russell and Revett families with fishing rods and game. 39 x 49 in. The Chequers Trust
  79. Syllabub straight from the cow (The Russell and Revett families in a landscape). Signed, 38.5 x 49 in. The Chequers Trust
  80. The Earl of Scarborough with hunting party in the grounds of Rufford Abbey, Nottinghamshire. 111 x 161 in. Bonhams, London, 24 April 1986, Lot 16
  81. Mr Thomas Scawen. Standing three-quarter length in a parkland with a pavilion beyond. Oil on copper, 18.75 x 15.75 in. Christie’s, London, 17 March 1978, Lot 52. A pair with checklist no. 82
  82. Mrs Thomas Scawen Seated three-quarter length in a garden, oil on copper, 18.75 x 15.75 in. Christie’s, London, 17 March 1978, Lot 52. A pair with no. 81
  83. Portrait of a lady said to be Cecelia Scott. Three-quarter length seated in a landscape, inscribed. 50 x 40 in. Phillips, London, 24 January 1995, Lot 12
  84. Archbishop Thomas Secke. Signed and dated 1740. Three-quarter length. Diocese of Oxford
  85. The Shelley family. Signed and dated 1736. 27.5 x 36.5 in. Sotheby’s, London, 28 November 1973, Lot 46
  86. The daughters of John Simpson Esq, c1742, signed. Full-length portraits of the two daughters of John Simpson of Babworth, one in a white dress the other in a blue dress. 46.5 x 46.5 in. Christie’s, London, 14 May 1926, Lot 50
  87. Portrait of Mr. Smith of Torrington. Seated at a table on a classical balcony. 38.2 x 27.2 in. Phillips, London, 22 May 1984, Lot 72
  88. Portrait of Anne Spencer, Lady Bateman. Wearing a satin dress seated beside a table on which she rests her right arm. A black dog is asleep on a tasselled cushion on the floor in front of her. 94 x 59 in. Whereabouts unknown
  89. The Strange family. Three-quarter length, father and mother seated with son standing between them, signed and dated 1743. 46.5 x 55.5 in. Sotheby’s, New York, 11 June 1981, Lot 20
  90. Portrait of Lord Strathnaver, brother of Lady Janet Sinclair. Three-quarter length. 47 x 38.2 in. Christie’s, Scotland, 13 May 1993, Lot 890
  91. Sir William Strickland and his family. Signed and dated 1731. 20.7 x 28.7 in. Sotheby’s, London, 29 November 1978, Lot 152
  92. Sir William Strickland and his family, c1731, 22 x 29.5 in, Christie’s, London, 15 July 1983, Lot 64. Variant of checklist no. 91
  93. Mr and Mrs Strong with their family. Previously known as The Churchill family at home. Signed and dated 1732. 29.6 x 37 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 44.159
  94. Charles, 5th Earl of Sunderland. Standing in an interior in earl’s robes resting his hand on the table beside him on which sits his coronet. 94 x 59 in. Whereabouts unknown
  95. Portrait of a gentleman, said to be Sir George Thomas, with a young black servant, c1738. Three-quarter length. 50 x 40 in. With Philip Mould in 2012
  96. John Harvey Thursby of Abington Abbey, 1737. 49.0 x 39.4 in. On loan to Northampton Museums and Art Gallery, PCF62 (which also owns a copy of this original portrait)
  97. Honor Thursby, wife of John Thursby, 1737. 49.0 x 39.4 in. Northampton Museums and Art Gallery, L.530
  98. George, 1st Viscount Torrington. Standing full-length in ermine trimmed robes a coronet on the table beside him. Inscribed 1731. Private collection
  99. Portrait of Thomas Tower (3rd). Seated in a library. 1730s. 20.25 x 16.25 in. Ashridge Collection
  100. Sarah Tully, Lady Hoare, c1730–6. Diam 12. National Trust, Stourhead, Wiltshire, 732149
  101. Admiral Edward ‘Grog’ Vernon, c1743. Signed. 46.1 x 39.0 in. National Trust, Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire, 653149
  102. Admiral Edward Vernon. 50.0 x 39.8 in. Government Art Collection, 3399
  103. Admiral Edward Vernon. Signed. 50.0 x 40.0 in. National Maritime Museum, BHC3068
  104. Group portrait of a family, possibly members of the Vernon family, with a black servant, in an elegant interior. Conversation piece. Signed and dated ‘C P [linked]… hilips. Pinxit 1733.’ 36.5 x 53.5 in. Christie’s, London, 6 March 2008, Lot 45
  105. Tea party in Virginia. 24 x 29.1 in. Reduced-scale version of checklist no. 104 Whereabouts unknown
  106. Portrait of George, 1st Baron Vernon of Sudbury, Derbyshire (b 1707–8). Three-quarter length, in a red coat and white waistcoat with gold trim, in a landscape. Signed and dated ‘C Philips pinx.t/1737’. 50 x 40.5 in. Christie’s, London, 27 April 2007, Lot 39
  107. Portrait of Sir Robert Walpole with his secretary. In an interior. 13.5 x 11 in,.Christie, Mason and Woods, London, 9 May 1952, Lot 77
  108. William Warburton, Bishop of Gloucester, c1737. Writing on paper on a desk. 49.4 x 39.5 in. National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG 23
  109. Conversation piece of the Warren family. Signed and dated 1734. 30 x 41 in. National Trust, Sudbury Hall, Derbyshire, NT653234
  110. Lady Anne Watson-Wentworth, later Countess Fitzwilliam, c1740. Full-length in a park wearing a white satin dress with blue trimmings. 50 x 50 in. John Steegman, A Survey of Portraits in Welsh Houses, vol 2, 1962, National Museum of Wales, p44, pl 46 (17)
  111. The Watson-Wentworth and Finch families, c1732. Signed. 39.5 x 49 in. Yale Center for British Art, B2001.2.67
  112. Alderman William Webb, with St. Paul’s Cathedral seen through a window to his left. Seated full-length looking out of the window. 25.5 x 22 in. Christie’s, London, 17 June 1983, Lot 130
  113. Unknown family group (possibly Wightwick or Rudge), 1730. 31.0 x 39.0 in. Pembroke College, Oxford, 39
  114. Sir John Eardley Wilmot (1709–1792). Standing three-quarter length in a landscape holding a cane in one hand and a glove in the other. 49 x 39 in. Christie’s, London, 25 February 1977, Lot 131
  115. The Hon. Charles Yorke, when Attorney General. Standing three-quarters length with papers in his left hand. Signed. 49 x 38 in. Christie’s, London, 5 March 1982, Lot 15

 

 

Unidentified sitters

 

  1. A nobleman with two ladies and a dog in a park, signed and dated 1732. 29 x 24 in. Christie’s, London, 28 July 1926, Lot 48
  2. Portrait of a gentleman. Signed ‘C. Philips pixt’ lower left. Half-length. 30 x 25 in. Ahlers & Ogletree Auctions, Atlanta, USA, 10 June 2022, Lot 419
  3. Portrait of a gentleman, full-length, in a green coat, and a groom holding a horse in the background, indistinctly signed and dated 1732. 18.9 x 12.6 in. Bonhams, London, 30 April 2014, Lot 219
  4. Portrait of two gentlemen, full-length, one seated on a red wing back chair, in an interior, a bust beyond, indistinctly signed and dated on bust ‘1736’. 28.75 x 24 in. Sotheby’s, London, 9 July 2009, Lot 7
  5. Portrait of a gentleman, full-length, seated playing a ’cello. 17.3 x 13.6 in. Sotheby’s, London, 22 April 2009, Lot 203
  6. Portrait of a gentleman, reclining with a book, by a stream signed and dated 1731/32 lower left. 19 x 13.5 in. Whereabouts unknown
  7. A gentleman standing in an interior. Three-quarter length with tricorn hat in his right hand. 49 x 39.5 in. Christie, Mason and Woods, Adare Manor, Ireland, 9 June 1982, Lot 118
  8. A gentleman standing by a table. Full-length in an interior pointing at the letters that rest upon the table. Christie, Mason and Woods, London, 23 May 1924, Lot 132
  9. A gentleman standing in a landscape. Full-length standing with legs crossed. Christie, Mason and Woods, London, 23 May 1924, Lot 132
  10. Portrait of a gentleman, signed and dated 1735. Small scale full-length portrait set in a landscape with the sitter wearing a blue coat over a red waistcoat and breeches, holding a cane. 19.5 x 15.75 in. Sotheby’s, London, 13 July 1994, Lot 30. Sold as a pair with checklist no. 126
  11. Portrait of a gentleman, signed and dated 1735. Small-scale full-length portrait set in a landscape with the sitter wearing a blue coat over a red waistcoat and breeches, holding a book. 19.5 x 15.75 in. Sotheby’s, London, 13 July 1994, Lot 30 Sold as a pair with no. 125
  12. Portrait of an English gentleman, signed and dated 1733. Full-length in an interior. 21.2 x 16.5 in. Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Milwaukee, USA, 21 March 2014, Lot 272
  13. Portrait of a gentleman. Standing full-length in an interior, wearing clerical dress. 31.5 x 26.6 in. Sotheby’s, London, 10 November 1993, Lot 141
  14. Portrait of a gentleman. Full-length in a green coat with two hounds beside him. 21 x 17 in. Bonham’s, London, 28 July 1977, Lot 210. Sold as a pair with checklist no. 144
  15. Unidentified man (possibly Corbet Owen), signed and dated 1736. Half-length in a painted oval wearing a red coat. 36 x 28 in. John Steegman, A Survey of Portraits in Welsh Houses, vol 1, 1957, National Museum of Wales, p246
  16. Unknown gentleman. Standing full-length in an interior before a column. 29.5 x 24.25 in. Collection of Sir Thomas Legard
  17. Unknown gentleman. Standing full-length in a landscape with a distant church. Collection of Sir Thomas Legard
  18. Unknown gentleman. Standing full-length beside a column in a landscape, 26.5 x 16.75 in. Collection of Sir Thomas Legard
  19. Portrait of a gentleman, signed and dated 1733. Holding an open book in his right hand. 20 x 16 in. Christie’s, London, 18 June 1971, Lot 44
  20. Portrait of a nobleman in Garter robes, holding a coronet. Oil on panel, 13 x 10 in. Christie’s, London, 12 March 1992, Lot 109
  21. Portrait of a lady, wearing white satin dress and blue cape within a painted oval, signed. 29.3 x 24.25 in. Bonham’s, Bath, 30 May 2008, Lot 275
  22. Portrait of a lady, signed and dated 1738. Full-length seated in a landscape wearing a white dress. 26.5 x 22.75 in. Sotheby’s, New York, 3 April 1996, Lot 40A [see Pl 7 above]
  23. Vornehme junge Dame in weissem Atlaskleid (‘a young noblewoman in a white satin dress’), signed and dated 1736. 20.1 x 14.2 in. Leo Spik, Berlin, 23 March 2000, Lot 404
  24. Portrait of a lady in a landscape, wearing a white silk dress, holding a flower, with a book on a bank beside her, signed and dated 1736. 20.5 x 16.5 in,. Bonhams, London, 2 November 2016, Lot 222
  25. Portrait of a lady in a dark green riding habit in an interior. 17 x 13 in. Christie’s, London, 8 June 2000, Lot 37
  26. Portrait of a lady. Three-quarter length seated in a landscape. 50.3 x 40 in. Phillips, New York, 25 November 1981, Lot 37
  27. Portrait of a lady with her daughter standing with her pet dog, signed and dated 1730. 24.8 x 30 in. Sotheby’s, Sussex, 20 May 1991, Lot 265
  28. Portrait of a lady. Wearing a gold dress and blue cloak standing beside an urn with a dog at her feet. 18.9 x 15.4 in. Sotheby’s, London, 16 May 1990, Lot 33
  29. Portrait of a lady. Standing full-length on a veranda in a red and white dress, 21 x 17 in. Bonham’s, London, 28 July 1977, Lot 210. Sold as a pair with checklist no. 129
  30. Ladies and Maids of Honour in Greenwich Park, dated May 16 1730. 36 x 45.1 in. Christie’s, London, 18 April 1996, Lot 10
  31. Two ladies with a negro page in a garden, c1730s, signed. One lady seated holding a book the other standing beside her. 23.5 x 17.5 in. Christie’s, London, 26 May 1924, Lot 39
  32. Two ladies walking in a garden, a temple beyond, monogram lower left. 20.25 x 22.25 in. Sotheby’s, London, 3 April 1996, Lot 28
  33. Portrait of a lady with her daughter in a garden. 25 x 30 in. Phillips, New York, 30 January 1985, Lot 562
  34. Ladies and Maids of Honour in an ornamental garden, signed and dated 1731. 40 x 50 in. Christie’s, London, 3 March 1994, Lot 90
  35. A little boy with a bird. Register of Conditionally Exempt Works of Art, HM Revenue and Customs
  36. A boy with a fallow deer. Register of Conditionally Exempt Works of Art, HM Revenue and Customs
  37. Portrait of a boy with his dog, c1740. Three-quarter length. 14.75 x 11 in. Skinner Auctioneers, USA, 14–26 January 2021, Lot 1224
  38. Portrait of a boy. Standing full-length on a terrace wearing a red coat and waistcoat with a greyhound. 26 x 20 in. Christie’s, London, 27 April 1979, Lot 113
  39. Portrait of a little girl holding a red squirrel. Oval, 13.3 x 11.5 in. Lawrence, Crewkerne, 22 November 1979, Lot 48
  40. Portrait of a girl. 9 x 8 in. Sotheby’s, London, 14 May 1986, Lot 190
  41. Portrait of a young girl, signed and dated ‘C Philips pinx 1734’. Standing in an ornamental garden wearing a white dress and holding a basket of flowers. 16.5 x 13.5 in. Sotheby’s, London, 14 March 1984, Lot 32
  42. A gentleman and two ladies playing cards. A man and one lady seated each side of a small table with a young lady standing beside the seated lady all in an elegant interior. 24 x 28.3 in. Sotheby’s, New York, 12 January 1979, Lot 68
  43. Group portrait of a family, by a lake and a classical pavilion, signed and dated 1736. 63 x 53.17 in. Christie’s, London, 10 June 1999, Lot 4
  44. A conversation piece, 1730s. A lady and a gentleman standing in a landscape beside a dog with a page showing them a dead hare. 24 x 20 in. When with Leggatt Brothers, London, illustrated on the cover of Apollo, vol 51, January 1950
  45. Conversation piece A lady and a gentleman both finely dressed and seated in an interior, two children and an elderly lady standing beside them. 39 x 58.5 in. Christie, Mason and Woods, London, 26 March 1976, Lot 32
  46. Family group, c1730. In an interior. Originally the room depicted was stated to be in Virginia but recently has been thought more likely to be English. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
  47. Family group with a spaniel in a park. 23 x 17.5 in. Christie’s, London, 20 June 1975, Lot 76. NB same family as in checklist no. 163
  48. Family Group in a Landscape A man, two ladies and a boy, 29 x 24 in, Christie’s, London, 20 June 1975, Lot 77. Same family as in checklist no. 162
  49. Family group on a terrace. 16 x 22 in. Sotheby’s, London, 20 December 1973, Lot 66
  50. A family portrait, signed and dated 1737. A man in a green coat and tricorn hat stands beside his seated wife who wears a pink dress with a baby on her lap and another child beside her. 50 x 61.5 in. Sotheby’s, New York, 11tApril 1984, Lot 6
  51. A family portrait. A father, mother, four children and a pug all full-length in an interior. 26 x 31.3 in. Sotheby’s, New York, 3 November 1983, Lot 99
  52. Portrait of a gentleman, his wife and their three children standing on a terrace, a frigate of the Blue Squadron beyond, c1734. 28.5 x 28.5 in. Christie’s, New York, 20 October 1988, Lot 187
  53. Family group in an interior. 39 x 58 in. Christie’s, London, 26 March 1976, Lot 32
  54. A family group around a table in the grounds of a country mansion. 39.5 x 49.5 in. Christie’s, London, 24 April 1987, Lot 84
  55. A family relaxing in a park, the boy holding a bow and Arrow. 25.2 x 30.1 in. Phillips, London, 17 December 1996, Lot 17
  56. Portrait of a family. Standing in a garden. 36.75 x 52.25 in. Sotheby’s, New York, 29 May 2003, Lot 131
  57. Portrait of a family in an interior. Three-quarter length. 57 x 77 in Sotheby’s, London, 4 December 2008, Lot 23
  58. Portrait of a family, full-length on a balcony. 22.4 x 55.4 in. Bonhams, London, 24 February 2016, Lot 208
  59. Unknown family. Parents and seven children in a landscape, approximately 24 x 36 in., whereabouts unknown, with Philip Mould, London, in 1986
  60. A musical party. In a wooded landscape. 24.5 x 33 in. Christie’s, London, 19 November 1976, Lot 87
  61. A hunting party at Rufford Abbey, signed. 46 x 66 in. Christie’s, London, 16 March 1984, Lot 45
  62. Portrait Study, signed and dated. 20 x 16 in. Bigwood Auctioneers, Stratford-upon-Avon, 22 November 1991, Lot 100
  63. Portrait of a lady/Portrait of a gentleman/Portrait of a girl/Portrait of a boy. Four miniature paintings, head and shoulders, mounted below a single matte with four oval apertures, each 3.74 x 3.15 in. Christie’s, London, 26 May 1989, Lot 117
  64. Charles Newby Esq. The National Portrait Gallery, London, holds a mezzotint dated 1744, D38712, after this untraced portrait by Charles Philips
  65. A work by Philips described by him in a letter to a patron in 1743, quoted by Whitley (I, p109). The artist stated, ‘It is in the cast of Watteau, a pleasant picture nine foot high by twelve foot long, and will look as handsome as the best tapestry.’ Untraced

 

 

 

  1. Rodney Griffiths, ‘The life of Richard Phillips (1680–1741) With a catalogue of his works’, The British Art Journal, XIX, 2 (Autumn 2018), pp13–19 (= Griffiths). ↑
  2. Bishop’s Transcripts, St John the Baptist, Egham, Surrey, 22 January 1738. ↑
  3. Register of the parish of St Mildred, Poultry, London Metropolitan Archives, P69/M1L2/A/001/MS-04429, item 1. ↑
  4. Guildhall Library, Poll Book for 1727, City of London. ↑
  5. Apprenticeship Books, City (Town) Registers, National Archives, IR 1/7. ↑
  6. C Webb, London Livery Company Apprenticeship Registers, vol 24: Ironmongers’ Company (1655–1800), London 1998. ↑
  7. Kate Retford, The Conversation Piece: Making Modern Art in Eighteenth-Century Britain, New Haven and London 2016. ↑
  8. Rodney Griffiths, ‘Gawen Hamilton c1697–1737 with a catalogue of his works, The British Art Journal, XXII, 1 (Spring/Summer 2021), pp10–11; Elisabeth Einberg, William Hogarth: A Complete Catalogue of his paintings, London 2016. ↑
  9. George Vertue, Notebook III, The Walpole Society, XXII (1934) (= Vertue), p54. ↑
  10. Vertue, p61. ↑
  11. Hugh Belsey, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford 2004 (= Belsey), p54. ↑
  12. London Evening Post, 21–24 January 1738. ↑
  13. Gentleman’s Magazine, 11 February 1738, p109. ↑
  14. Phyllis Braff, Music in Colonial Massachusetts 1630–1820, vol II, p520. ↑
  15. WT Whitley, Artists and Their Friends in England 1700–1799, 2 vols, York and London 1928 (= Whitley), I, p108. Whitley further informs us that ‘the writer who thus rhapsodized about Philips was a clergyman named Pindar’, clearly, this was not ‘Peter Pindar’, nom de plume of the much later Revd John Wolcot (1738–1819). ↑
  16. Belsey, p54. ↑
  17. London Evening Post, 18 December 1736. Sadler’s Hall was completely destroyed by fire in 1940. ↑
  18. Whitley, p109. ↑
  19. Ellen D’ Oench, Arthur Devis (1712–1787): Master of the Georgian Conversation Piece, PhD dissertation, Yale University, 1979; Rodney Griffiths, ‘The Life and Works of Edward Haytley’, The Walpole Society, LXXIV (2012), pp1–60. ↑
  20. Ralph Edwards, Early Conversation Pictures, London 1954. ↑
  21. National Archives, PROB 11/679/50. ↑
  22. National Archives, PROB 11/747/143. ↑
  23. National Archives, PROB 11/758/147. ↑
  24. London Evening Post, Death Notices, 26–28 November 1747. ↑
  25. City of Westminster Archives, Parish Marriages, St Anne, Soho, 1750.26 National Archives, PROB 11/758/147.27 JC Smith, British Mezzotinto, Pt 3, under Simon 168, 1884, reprinted 2010 by General Books, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.28 Griffiths. ↑
  26. National Archives, PROB 11/758/147.
  27. JC Smith, British Mezzotinto, Pt 3, under Simon 168, 1884, reprinted 2010 by General Books, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
  28. Griffiths.

 

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