Thomason, J. (SCC Newsletter April 2004)

A MAJOR ARTIST & SOMETHING OF A`LADIES' MAN'!

I have been wanting to write this article for sometime. In my view Thomason is an attractive artist, especially when he comes to the ladies! Also, he is the only recorded artist who devised a form of D.I.Y. for his 'sitters'. I will outline this later. Little or nothing is known about his background - even his first name is unknown. It has been assumed by some writers on his work that he was a pupil of J. Miers - however, Mrs. McKechnie could find no evidence for this, but accepted that his style was likely to have been influenced by Miers' work.

Apart from his two years in Dublin (1790-1792) Thomason does not seem to have had a work place address. It is recorded that he worked in Manchester about 1786-87 and Coventry, Leicester and Nottingham in 1787. It has been suggested that he went to Cheshire and Staffordshire during these years, but again there is no evidence. Whether he worked in London after he returned from Dublin is uncertain. Mrs. McKechnie thinks not and suggests that he may have gone to Scotland in the late 1790's. It is possible that he continued to work until 1800. No street directories in any of the towns recorded make any reference to him.

The bulk of his work was painted on plaster slabs - all the illustrations in this article will be on this medium. He did paint jewellery pieces on ivory - some are illustrated in Mrs. McKechnie's Book. Also, It has been recorded by Jackson, Mayne and Woodwiss, that Thomason painted on glass after he returned from Dublin. He used colour (red earrings & gold necklaces) and backed his work with wax. Mrs. McKechnie was not so sure that he changed his medium and illustrated attributed examples, which were clearly by Parkin of Colchester or possibly H. Gibbs! I am certain he did not produce silhouettes in this way - it just does not make any sense!

In this article I will illustrate many examples of Thomason's work - hopefully to show his strong and weak points and his change of style over the years. I have consulted works by Mrs. N. Jackson, Arthur Mayne, J, Woodiwiss, Peggy Hickman and of course Mrs. McKechnie in the process.

Below I have photocopied four early works by Thomason. Starting from the left these are as follows: 1.Unknown man owned by V.& A. Museum - very plain in style - trade label no.2 1790. 2. Unknown lady in elaborate hat - trade label no.1. 1788. 3.Unknown man - trade label no.1. 1789. 4.James Wyatt - no trade label 1787. Nos.1,2 & 4 are illustrated in the Book. No 3. was sold at Christies' on 8.3.1995 as lot 112. Note bust-line of the hatted lady.

 

 

 

 

J. THOMASON PAGE 2.

Early Work. Above are two works from a collection. Both have been badly 'rubbed' over the years so have lost some detail. The man is badly cracked and the photos are not perfect! Nevertheless they illustrate important features of Thomason's style. Both are backed with trade label no.1 and will have been painted in Manchester about 1786. Both are painted with some detail in thinned watercolour and the lady is similar to the hatted lady on the previous page, but does not have her v shape at the arm demarcation. The lady's bust-line is of the sloping kind with rounded ends. The man's is shallower with a peak at the arm, which is similar to that to James Wyatt on the previous page. It seems Thomason only painted this 'peak' for a very limited time - J. Miers painted a similar 'peak' in 1784 on a few silhouettes.

Thomason's no.1 trade label is illustrated on the right. It is from the man above and is a little damaged at the edges. The address used at this time was Mr. William Coopers' Dolefield, Manchester. The label was printed by Shillito, Leeds -the same printer used by J. Miers and hence the view that both artists had worked together at some point. The price charged by Thomason was 5s.6d. The sitting time was 2 minutes! There was no record of Mr. Cooper in the street directories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J. THOMASON PAGE 3.

Intermediate Work. This is Thomason's most prolific period - mostly spent in Dublin between 1790-92. 0n this page are illustrated 3 hatless ladies easily recognisable as the work of Thomason. All would be expected to be backed with a no.3 trade label and to have been painted c.1789-1792. Above on the left is an unknown lady with a trade label no.3 - she is in Mrs.Mc.K's Book illus.1408 and also in J. Woodiwiss's book on Silhouettes. Her hair is well painted and to quote Mrs.McK."with greater skill than usual". On her right is a female member of the Cavendish Family with a 'missing' trade label. She has been somewhat 'rubbed' but shows Thomason's 'treatment' of hair and her buffon well. She was sold at Bonhams on 7.2.1994. On the right below is Lady Rogerson Mathews, who was sold at Peggy Hickman's Sale at Christies' S. Ken. on 12.5.1993. She is backed by the rare trade label no. 4 that was only used for a short time at Thomason's second address in Dublin. Note that all have bows at the front of the bust-line, which is almost a hall-mark of Thomason's work. The bust-line has changed a little from the earlier work - it has become more sloping and often with a point at the back, which is obscured by the ladies' hair.

J. THOMASON PAGE 4.

On this page are a few more hat-less ladies of the period. At the top of the page on the left are three ladies from the Malahide Castle Collection near Dublin. All are described as 'a lady' - two are backed by trade label no. 3 and the third has 'lost' her label. Details of the painting are difficult to show as the images are taken from photos. Interestingly there are seven other silhouettes by Thomason in the Collection - several of the same family. On the right above is a photocopy of a lady with ribbons & feathers on her hair. She was named in Sotheby's catalogue of 1.5.1972 as the actress Sarah Siddons. She was attributed to Mrs. Lightfoot, but Jack Pollak 'corrected' the auction house!

On the right below is a photo of a young lady from the Andrews Collection at Stoner House. She is no. 145 in the Collection listing. I think she is a nice example.

As you will have noticed from the last eight illustrations Thomason's 'treatment' of ladies' hair is quite distinctive. Mrs. McK. describes it as somewhat wiry and in no way up to J, Miers'. I think she did not care for the effect, but I have always liked it. I will mention frames at this point. All the silhouettes I have illustrated so far have been housed in oval pressed brass frames. Certainly these are Thomason’s preferred choice for his early work and during his time in Dublin. As I will show his later frames varied - these included rectangular brass frames and oval pear-wood, although it is difficult to know if frames were changed at a later date.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J. THOMASON PAGE 5.

Ladies with hats or bonnets will be illustrated on this and the next page.

Thomason may not have been as skilled as Miers in painting hair, but there is no doubt that he excelled in portraying ladies hats, ribbons, feathers and buffons - also his skills seemed to improve with the years. On the page above is an unknown lady in a very stylish hat - I think she looks very dashing. She is illus.1410 in Mrs.McK's Book. She has no label, but is housed in a smart oval pearwood frame with an unusual verre eglomise border. I have enlarged her head to show the detail, which is most effective.

Below are photocopied three other smart ladies with various headdresses.

On the left is Mrs. Standish with trade label no. 2. She was sold at Bonhams with her husband on 24.11.1999 at the Andrew Ransford Sale.

In the middle is an unknown woman illus.1407 in Mrs.McK's Book. She painted

1790/91 and is backed with trade label no.3 ex. Pollak Collection. On the right is Anne Landrum in a very elaborate hat with ribbons and feathers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J.THOMASON PAGE 6

She had no trade label and was sold at Phillips on 8.2.2000.

At the top of this page on the right is a lady in another smart hat. In the past she has been in the Pollak Collection. She was sold at Bonhams at the sale of the Pollak Collection on 30.6.1998. She had no trade label but she was a splendid example of Thomason's work. She made a record price of £1,100 on the hammer.

Below are two photos of a middle-aged bonneted lady. Nothing is known about her and she has no label. Her bonnet is particularly well conveyed, so I have enlarged this to show more of the detail. I especially like the painting of the ribbon around the muslin.

Eyelashes. These have not been mentioned in the literature on Thomason as far as I can see. However, I have noticed whilst looking more closely at his silhouettes that he rarely makes one stroke for the eyelash of his 'sitters'. Often there are two strokes - one a little longer than the other. This produces a more lifelike lash. This feature may be a possible attribution 'tool' where it is used and the work is not shrieking "Thomason"!

The D.I.Y. Plan. This was advertised in the Dublin Chronicle in May 1790. I quote…" to accommodate country patrons he (Thomason) hath something new & peculiar to propose. Any number of ladies & gentlemen, not less than three, desirous of getting studies, but do not come to Town, may, by directing a line as above have such instructions sent as will enable even those who do not draw, to take correctly each others' shades from life, which may be

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J. THOMASON PAGE 7.

sent to be finished in Town,& they may rely on having the same justice done them & every mistake as particularly rectified as if present on the spot without any additional charge whatever.” It is difficult to see how this idea could produce satisfactory results! Presumably the finished plaster slabs were then posted to his customers - a risky venture. There is no record as to whether there was much 'take-up' of this D.I.Y. scheme as Thomason left Dublin after only two years saying that he had to leave for England!

Above is a photo of a man painted in Dublin. I had hoped to give two examples of men of this period, but unfortunately the light ruined the second chap! However, the one that came out well is a good example of Thomason's 'treatment of men's hair. It is possible to see the wiriness of the hair as well as the blacker paint that has been used to outline some of the lower curls. It is quite unlike the hair 'treatment' on Miers' men. He has the more sloping bust-line with a small point at the back - associated with this period of Thomason's work. His eyelash is formed by more than one stroke.

He is owned by a member of the S.C.C. and is backed by trade label no. 3 illustrated on his right. Thomason had three printed labels whilst he was in Dublin. No.2 was printed by Shillito of Leeds and was used for a very short time. The printed price on the label for a silhouette was still 5s.6d. This was shortly altered by hand to 5s.112d.It has been suggested that the extra 52d was to cover the postage costs for the D.I.Y. scheme! No. 3 was printed in Dublin with Thomason's first Dublin address i.e.25, South Great George Street. The prices had risen to 6s 6d. No.4 was presumably printed after Thomason moved to 33,Capel Street - prices remained the same! There is no record of further printed labels after Thomason left Dublin in 1792 when his departure was "positively determined upon". One wonders why this was.

J. THOMASON PAGE 8.

Later work. Photocopied at the bottom of this page are three members of the Donald Family - all illustrated in Mrs. McK’s. Book. All are good examples of Thomason's work after he returned from Dublin. Above are photos of two silhouettes that were at one time part of the Frances Wellesley Collection.

These have been photographed from the illustrations in Wellesley's book "One Hundred Silhouette Portraits" - published in 1912. Unfortunately clothing detail does not show clearly especially in the case of Mrs. Gray, but it is possible to see that bust-lines have become shallower with less convexity and concavity. All these silhouettes represent Thomason's dark-grey period - i.e. when he painted in this colour showing more clothing detail on the main body of the silhouette. In particular he painted thin black lines hatched across the grey to show arm demarcation, which is rather effective in my view. Mrs. Reay has a nicely painted dormeuse cap and almost certainly will have the 'regulation' hatching lines. Mrs. McKechnie was able to examine this silhouette before writing her Book - she records that Mrs. Reay's hair was not so "wire-like" as some of Thomason's earlier ladies! Also, she considered his work at this period to be "neater and finer". No label is recorded for Mrs. Reay or Mrs. Gray and it is likely that neither had a label from the start.

 

 

 

 

J. THOMASON PAGE 9.

Similarly, with the Donald Family silhouettes. Mrs. Gray was attributed to Rosenberg! There are some similarities in outline, but there is no record that Rosenberg painted on plaster. Mrs. Gray's clothing details are difficult to see but she is very similar to the young lady illustrated on the left below, where details are clearer. Nevertheless it is just possible to see that some of her curls have been outlined with darker lines - ? another attribution 'tool'. Looking at the young woman below I think it is just possible to see that the strokes for her hair and those of her buffon are all merged in together over the main body of the silhouette. This gives an overall greyish effect, which is quite pleasing. She is housed in a handsome rectangular pressed brass frame of the type that was used by Thomason for some of his unlabeled later works. The brother on her right has been somewhat damaged but I have shown him out of his frame so that Thomason's painting to show the demarcation of his arm can be observed. Note the thin black hatching lines on his sleeve. His neck frill is delicately portrayed. I do not know if it is possible for him to be restored with any success - doubtful I think!

On the next page is another man! The backing to his frame is photographed on his right. This has been greatly enlarged and reads "Thomason's Profiles".

Mrs. McKechnie has labelled these two words as trade label no.5,which is

illustrated in her Book on page 676 illus.1418. Mrs. McK. felt the writing was finer than that used by most artists and was therefore written by the artist!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J. THOMA SON PAGE 10.

Also the man above is illustrated in the Book on page 675 Illus. 1411. His photo shows his arm 'treatment' well. His hair and stock have a more sophisticated 'feel' than many of Thomason's earlier works. Below for good measure are three photocopied images. On the left is a young lady with a decorative 'curtain' border - sometimes used on jewellery by Thomason. In the middle is another member of the Donald Family. On the right is an unknown man in a cocked hat. The latter two are illustrated in the Book.

I had hoped to include in this article Thomason's silhouette of George Washington at Sulgrave Manor, but unfortunately, I was sent a silhouette of the great man by Samuel Folwell instead! I am hopeful that I will get the Thomason silhouette eventually - perhaps when I do it can form another article on Washington!