Painting

Title:

Benjamin Thompson

Object Name:

Painting

Creator:

Gainsborough, Thomas (1727-1788) -- Artist

Date:

1783

Material:

Textile

Dimensions:

H-30 W-25 inches

Description:

Portrait of Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (1753-1814), by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), 1783. Oil on canvas on aluminum. Bust-length portrait of a man facing slightly left. Sitter has white hair tied in queue and blue eyes. Wearing a military (King's American Dragoons) uniform: a red coat with blue facings, gold embroidered button holes, gold epaulettes, and buttons; white waistcoat, white cravat with neck ruffle. Holding a black hat with gold detail. Dark brown and yellow background in an oval shape with lighter brown spandrels. Brass nameplate on frame: "COUNT RUMFORD. / Gainsborough." Handwritten label by Countess Rumford on reverse: "Concord 3d June 1852. / This is the prettiest likeness ever taken / of Count Rumford -- showing the affability / of his character -- seeming to say you, who- / ever you are possess my heart -- I give it to you. / Evidently after the old Continental(?) War, / he being decorated with honors, he must / have been young at the time. / Sir William Pepperell, believing his stay / not long for this world, as it happened, kindly / restored this picture to the Daughter. The Painter unknown." Paper label with handwritten ink inscription by Joseph B. Walker also on frame reverse: "This portrait of Count Rumford in a / British Uniform, as declared by the / Countess of Rumford, in 1852, was / given to her by Sir William Pepperell. Mrs. / Burgum thinks it a copy, but knows / nothing of the original. Her opinion / needs conformation. Give me by Countess Rumford. J.B. Walker / Concord May 26, 1882". Old NHHS accession label on frame reverse. Unsigned. Gilded gesso over wood frame with egg exterior molding; foliate interior with twisted ribbon.

Provenance:

Given to Countess Rumford by Sir William Pepperell (1746-1816).
Owned by Sarah Thompson, Countess Rumford, who bequeathed her collection of family portraits to her cousin Joseph Burbeen Walker (1822-1913) in 1852. The portraits then passed to his son Charles R. Walker (1852-1922), and to his grandson Sheafe Walker, the donor.

Subjects:

American Revolution, Inventors, Loyalists, Portraits, Portraiture, Rumford, Soldiers, Thompson, Benjamin

People:

Rumford, Thompson, Benjamin (1753-1814), Pepperell, William (1746-1816), Rumford, Countess, Gainsborough, Thomas (1727-1788)

Place of Origin:

London, England

Collection Name:

Inventory

Item Number:

1979.020.03

Accession Number:

1979.020

Type of Material:

Objects

Copyright Statement:

For information regarding copyright, permissions, and reproductions contact the New Hampshire Historical Society

Credit Line:

Bequest of Sheafe Walker

Participating Organization:

New Hampshire Historical Society