Thomas Rogers (1781-1875), Carpenter, aged 48
William Jones of Chester (fl.1818 - 1853/1858)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1830
Materials
Oil on canvas in a wood frame
Measurements
1143 x 914 mm (45 x 36 in)
Order this imageCollection
Erddig, Wrexham
NT 1151280
Caption
Individual portraits of servants are not uncommon, but the sets at Erddig, which established a tradition later carried on in the form of photographs, may be unique. The first set of portraits was painted in the 1790s for Philip I Yorke, who wrote and published verses known as 'Crude-Ditties' to accompany them. The tradition was continued by Philip's son Simon II Yorke, who commissioned the present picture. Rogers was employed at Erddig for 73 years; his image also survives in a daguerreotype group portrait taken with his son and successor in 1852.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Thomas Rogers (1781-1875), Carpenter, William Jones of Chester (fl.1818-1853/58), 1830, inscribed with verses by Simon Yorke II (1771 - 1834) contained within a series of cartouches at the bottom of the portrait, the central cartouche inscribed 'Thomas Rogers/Carpenter/Aged 48 1830'. A full-length portrait of Thomas Rogers, Carpenter on the Erddig estate, depicted at the age of forty-eight. Rogers is shown in his workshop, standing before a bench and holding a wood plane, his tools arranged on the wall before him, and a dog at his feet. Rogers worked at Erddig for more than 65 years, starting in 1798, firstly as a pig-boy and then as a thatcher's assistant and slater. He was made a pensioner at the age of 90 and died in 1875 aged 94.
Provenance
Commissioned by Simon Yorke II (1771- 1834) in 1830; thence by descent; given by Philip Yorke III (1905 – 1978) along with the estate, house and contents to the National Trust in 1973.
Marks and inscriptions
Recto: Thomas Rogers/Carpenter /Aged 48 1830, flanked by 24 lines of verse
Makers and roles
William Jones of Chester (fl.1818 - 1853/1858), artist previously catalogued as attributed to British (English) School, artist
Exhibition history
In Trust for the Nation, National Gallery, London, 1995 - 1996, no.25a
References
Steegman 1957 John Steegman, A Survey of Portraits in Welsh Houses, Vol.I: North Wales, Cardiff, 1957, pp.97-98 The Destruction of the Country House, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1974, No.30 Pride of Possession, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, 1975-76, No. ? Waterson, 1980: Merlin Waterson, The Servants' Hall. A Domestic History of Erddig, Routledge & Kegan 1980, pp.59-63 2 fig. 37. Erddig, Clwyd: 1995 [The National Trust] 1995, p.41
