The sitter was a member of the Cookson family of Cumberland and Yorkshire; he died in 1773.
Thomas's father William (died 1743) was a wealthy merchant and pewterer in Penrith. He married Susannah Idle in 1701.
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The Cooksons also owned ironworks and colleries. Thomas's uncle was the Reverend Joseph Cookson, Vicar of Leeds.
The poet William Wordsworth's mother was a Cookson.
It can only be presumed that there was some marital conection between the families, as why else would a powerful aristocratic Scottish family dating back to the 12th century have eight portraits of an English mercantile middle-class family hanging in their ancestral home?
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The sitter, Thomas Cookson, expensively bewigged and wearing the fashionable silk wrap of a gentleman at leisure, looks rather inquiringly at the viewer. He seems at ease, and his build and ruddy complexion indicate a man who enjoyed good living.
The face is beautifully painted and a strong sense of the character of the sitter is present; absolutely typical of Richardson's mature English style.
JONATHAN RICHARDSON c.1665 - 1745 was the leading native born painter of the first forty years of the century, also a writer on art and literary topics. He was a pupil of Riley 1688-91 and helped found the 1711 Academy; he and Jervas were the busiest English portrait painters in rivalry with Kneller and Dahl. Jervas excelled with women's portraits and Richardson with men.
His works, like the example here, are solid, sound, good likenesses, and unpretentious.
SIZE: 39 x 32 inches inc. frame
PROVENANCE: By descent to the 14th Earl of Kintore of Keith Hall, Aberdenshire.
(The fourth photograph shows Keith Hall as it is today.)
Roy and nadine precious: specialists in portraiture from the 16th to the 20th century. Established in 1972.
You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Roy Precious - Antiques & Fine Art Profile Page
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Sold...portrait of Thomas Cookson C.1735, by Jonathan Richardson
