Engraving

Title:

Benjamin Count of Rumford

Object Name:

Engraving

Object ID:

1917.002

Creator:

Lane, William (1746-1819)Artist; Smith, John Raphael (1752-1812)Engraver

Place of Origin:

London, England

Date:

1801

Description:

Mezzotint portrait, Benjamin Count of Rumford, painted, engraved, and published by John Raphael Smith (1752-1812), after William Lane (1764-1819), 1801. Ink on paper. Three-quarter length view of seated man facing right. Wearing a dark, unbuttoned, double-breasted coat with light colored buttons; light colored pants and sash; a double-breasted white waistcoat and white shirt frill and cravat. A watch fob hangs at subject's right. Seated in an upholstered armchair. A fabric-covered table in left foreground; a standish and other writing materials on table. Curtain draped in background with opening at right revealing bookshelves. Subject sits with his left arm extended and draped over arm of chair; his right arm, bent at elbow, rests on other arm of chair, while his right hand, with extended forefinger, supports his head. Lower margin at center: "Benjamin, Count of Rumford / Knight of the Illustrious Orders of the White Eagle, and Saint Stanislaus: / Chamberlain, Privy Counsellor of State and Lieutenant-General in the Service of His Most Serene Highness the Elector Bavaro-Palatine. / Vice President of the Royal Society of London; and one of the Managers of the Royal Institution of Great Britain / L.L.D. Acad. Reg. Hibern. Berol. Elec. Boicce. Palat. Americ. Genev. et Mancuniens. Socius. &c. / Painted, Engraved & Published April 2, 1801, by I.R. Smith, Mezzotint Engraver to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, No. 31, King Street, Covent Garden London." Lower right corner in margin: "K". National Portrait Gallery exhibition label on matboard backing. Matted. Molded wood frame painted black with gilded beaded trim interior, glazed.

Material:

Paper

Dimensions:

H-23.25 W-17 inches

Provenance:

The mezzotint seems to derive directly from a pastel portrait by William Lane of London and believed to have been painted 1798-1800.

Credit Line:

Gift of Amos Tuck French

People:

Count Rumford, French, Amos Tuck (1863-1941), Smith, John R., Thompson, Benjamin (1753-1814), Lane, William (1746-1819)

Subjects:

Count Rumford, Thompson, Benjamin, Portrait prints, Portraits, Inventors, Statesmen, Scientists