Frederick Frankland

Maker William Hogarth (British, 1697-1764)

SitterSitter: Frederick Frankland (British, 1685 - 1768)

Collections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca. 1739-1740

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions50 x 39 1/2 in. (127 x 100.3 cm.) frame: 57 3/4 × 47 1/2 × 2 3/4 in. (146.7 × 120.7 × 7 cm.)

DescriptionSeated, three-quarter length, nearly full face. Holding papers in front of him while seated in an armchair at a desk. Rich brown velvet coat ornamented with gold braid and breeches, with white ruffles at neck and sleeves. Dark interior with sculptured portrait head on a large pedestal to the left and a heavy curtain with large gold tassle hanging down at the right.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Label TextHogarth’s portrayal of Frederick Frankland, whose slight smile hints at an affable character, represents one of the artist’s earliest attempts at large-scale portraiture. In the late 1730s, Hogarth began to experiment with works this size as a way to compete with foreign artists who monopolized the English market at this time. It is likely that Frankland, former director of the Bank of England and member of Parliament, knew Hogarth personally since the artist once acknowledged “by those who were partial to me, I was sometimes commissioned to paint Portraits as large as life.”

Status

On view

Object number34.4