Lot 27: James Northcote R.A. (Plymouth 1746-1831 London)

James Northcote R.A. (Plymouth 1746-1831 London)
Portrait of Dr. Thaddeus Connellan, three-quarter-length, seated with a book, before a window
signed and dated 'James Northcote pinxt. 1824' (upper right)
oil on canvas
127.5 x 103.2cm (50 3/16 x 40 5/8in).
unframed

Footnotes

• Provenance
  Probably, the Collection of Sir William Wellesley Knighton Bt., Blendworth Lodge, Hampshire
  His sale, Christie's, Blendworth Lodge, 21-23 May 1885 (sold by the executors of his estate), where purchased by
  John Sayers, West Tarring, Sussex, from whom acquired by
  Edmund Lamb, 1901
  
  Exhibited
  London, Royal Academy, 1925, no. 131
  Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland (on loan from approximately 1902- 2016)
  
  Literature
  Possibly, G. Waagen, Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain, London, 1857, vol. IV, pp. 373-4 (refers to a painting by Northcote)
  
  Thaddeus Connellan was the author of numerous books on the Irish language, including an Irish-English Dictionary which was first published in 1814 and various translations of the Bible into Irish. Very little is known about Connellan and he died at Sligo in July 1854.
  
  This painting once belonged to Sir William Wellesley Knighton of Blendworth Lodge, Hampshire whose sizeable collection was sold following his death in 1885. The collection is mentioned by Waagen who, though he himself did not visit the house and see the collection, knew of its existence and reported it to include between 80 to 100 paintings including Old Master and English School paintings, including works by Northcote, Gainsborough and Wilkie.