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John Eld of Seighford Hall, Stafford
Thomas Gainsborough (English, 1727–1788)
about 1775
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
Overall: 238.8 x 153 cm (94 x 60 1/4 in.)
Framed: 260.4 x 174 cm (102 1/2 x 68 1/2 in.)
Framed: 260.4 x 174 cm (102 1/2 x 68 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Special Painting Fund
Accession Number12.809
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
The liberal and philanthropic John Eld was a benefactor of Staffordshire General Infirmary; the design or its façade (it was completed in 1776) appears on the sheet in his hands. Commissioned by the hospital’s trustees, this portrait hung at the infirmary for 140 years. Unlike many fellow English artists, Gainsborough never went to Italy. Here, he portrays Eld, handsome and imposing, in an elegant costume and powdered wig, his hat leaning against the column behind him.
InscriptionsLower right, on base of the pedestal: By the Command / And at the Expence / of the Subscribers
ProvenanceBy 1772, commissioned by the trustees of the Staffordshire General Infirmary, England [see note 1]; May 10, 1912, Staffordshire General Infirmary sale, Christie's London, lot 49, sold for 4000 guineas to M. Knoedler and Co., London (stock no. 12859) [see note 2]; 1912, sold by Knoedler to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 5, 1912)
NOTES:
[1] John Eld (b. 1704 - d. 1796) was a founder and benefactor to the Infirmary since its creation in 1765. The work was lent by the Staffordshire Infirmary to the Royal Academy in 1910 (no. 141) and Agnew's, London (no. 14). [2] Getty Provenance Index, M. Knoedler and Co. records, PI Record no. K-2222 (stock book 6, no. 12859, p. 29).
NOTES:
[1] John Eld (b. 1704 - d. 1796) was a founder and benefactor to the Infirmary since its creation in 1765. The work was lent by the Staffordshire Infirmary to the Royal Academy in 1910 (no. 141) and Agnew's, London (no. 14). [2] Getty Provenance Index, M. Knoedler and Co. records, PI Record no. K-2222 (stock book 6, no. 12859, p. 29).