Thomas King in "The Clandestine Marriage" by George Colman and David Garrick
Date:
ca. 1792
Materials & Techniques:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
14 x 10 3/4 inches (35.6 x 27.3 cm)
Credit Line:
Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Copyright Status:
Public Domain
Accession Number:
B1981.25.238
Classification:
Paintings
Collection:
Paintings and Sculpture
Subject Terms:
boxes (containers) | hat | costume | theater | portrait | bridge (built work) | actor | pink (color)
Currently On View:
Not on view
Publications:
A catalogue of the curious and inestimable collection of original drawings which have been distinguished Bell's various edtions of the British classics : and others of his miscellaneous publications, forming together a complete school of arts : which will be sold by auction by Mr. Christie, at his Great Room, Pall Mall, on Wednesday, March the 27th, 1793, and following day at twelve o'clock : to be viewed two days previous to the sale : catalogue, Christie's, March 27, 1793, N8640.N6+V.6no.6 Also available at Art Sales Catalogues OnlineArt Exhibitions, The Times (London), March 27, 1906, p. 14, Times Digital ArchiveKalman A. Burnim, John Bell, patron of British theatrical portraiture : a catalog of the theatrical portraits of his editions of Bell's Shakespeare and Bell's British Theatre, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL, 1998, pp. 177-178, no. 227, PN2597 .B75 1998 (YCBA)Malcolm Cormack, Concise Catalogue of Paintings in the Yale Center for British Art, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT, 1985, pp. 248-249, N590.2 .A83 (YCBA)Exhibition of works by the Old Masters and deceased masters of the British School including a collection of water colours winter exhibition thirty-ninth year 1908, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1908, p. 23, no. 83, microfiche B142 (YCBA)Philip H. Highfill Jr., A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers, & other stage personnel in London, 1660-1800, Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, IL, 1984, pp. 42 and frontispiece, vol. 9, no. 24, PN2597 .H55 (YCBA)Victoria Manners, John Zoffany, R.A. His Life and Works. 1735-1810, , John Lane, London, 1920, pp. 143, 144-145, 198, 277, NJ18.Z68 +M3 1920 Oversize (YCBA)Ian Mayes, Curtain call : portraits by Samuel De Wilde, Country Life, vol. 154, November 15, 1973, p. 1531, S3 .C68 Oversize (YCBA)Ian Mayes, John Bell, 'The British Theatre' and Samuel De Wilde, Apollo, vol. 113, Feburary 1981, p. 103, fig. 6, N1 .A54 Oversize (YCBA)Painting in England 1700-1850 from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, The Royal Academy of Arts Winter Exhibition 1964-65., , Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK, 1964, p. 57 (v.1), no. 208, N5220.M45 R69 1964 (YCBA)George Charles Williamson, English conversation pictures of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, B.T. Batsford, London, 1931, p. 14, pl. 36, ND1304 E5 1931 + (YCBA)
Gallery Label:
Thomas King originated the role of Lord Ogleby when the comedy The Clandestine Marriage made its debut at Drury Lane on February 20, 1766. This and other performances cemented his reputation as one of the finest comic actors of his time. Samuel De Wilde’s own career as a painter of theatrical portraits took off in 1791 with the publication of the second issue of John Bell’s British Theatre (published serially 1791–97), a miscellany of plays. Each issue consisted of a play accompanied by a vignette and a full-length portrait of a leading actor or actress of the day in character. For The Clandestine Marriage, the engraving after De Wilde’s painting included a line from a scene in a garden, where the vain and lecherous Lord Ogleby discusses his desire for the young and lovely heroine Fanny with his Swiss valet, Canton. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016