The Hon. Thomas Charles Reginald Robartes MP (1880-1915)
Richard Jack RA (Sunderland 1866 – Montreal 1952)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1907 (signed and dated)
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1511 x 897 mm (59 1/2 x 35 1/3 in)
Order this imageCollection
Lanhydrock, Cornwall
NT 884929
Caption
'The best dressed man in Parliament' was how the media described Tommy Agar-Robartes (1880-1915). This picture was paid for by 15,000 Cornish Liberals in appreciation for Tommy's work as their MP.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Hon. Thomas Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes, MP (1880-1915) by Richard Jack (Sunderland 1866 – Montreal 1952), signed and dated, bottom right: R.JACK 1907. A three-quarter length commemorative portrait of Thomas ('Tommy') Charles Reginald Agar-Robartes, the eldest son of the 6th Viscount Clifden as MP of Bodmin until 1906. He is standing wearing morning dress, addressing the House of Commons, his right hand holding his lapel and his left holding his notes. He was presenting the first reading of the Land Tenure Bill. He was later elected MP for St Austell in 1908 until his death at the Battle of Loos in 1915.
Provenance
Presented by 15,000 Cornish Liberals to the sitter in 1907; given by one of his younger brothers, either the 7th or 8th Viscount Clifden, after 1953 when the house came to the National Trust. The Hon. Gerald Agar-Robartes, later 7th Viscount Clifden, 1883-1966, lived at Lanhydrock with his two sisters, Everilda and Violet, until his death in 1966; the Hon. Victor Agar-Robartes, later 8th Viscount Clifden, 1885-1974, did not wish to live at Lanhydrock and lived with his second wife in Jersey.
Credit line
Lanhydrock, The Robartes Collection (The National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Recto: (signed) R. Jack 1907 Recto: Frame label: Honble Thomas C.R. Agar-Robartes M.P. / R. JACK. / Presented in 1907 by Cornish Liberals.
Makers and roles
Richard Jack RA (Sunderland 1866 – Montreal 1952), artist