Sir Thomas Lawrence
Thomas Campbell, 1777 - 1844. Poet and critic
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National Galleries of Scotland collection. Photo, National Galleries of Scotland.
Sir Thomas Lawrence, Thomas Campbell, 1777 - 1844. Poet and critic
About this artwork
The son of a Glasgow tobacco merchant, Thomas Campbell was a highly regarded poet. His early work was full of promise and he was spoken of alongside Wordsworth and Byron. Despite achieving considerable standing within the establishment, it was felt that he never achieved his full potential as a writer. His friend, Sir Walter Scott said of him: 'the brightness of his early talent is a detriment to all his further efforts. He is afraid of the shadow that his own fame casts before him'. Lawrence drew this delicate pencil portrait when he was working on the oil of Campbell, now in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Updated before 2020
- Artist:
- Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769 - 1830) English
- Title:
- Thomas Campbell, 1777 - 1844. Poet and critic
- Date:
- About 1809
- Materials:
- Pencil and watercolour on paper
- Measurements:
- 24.40 x 17.60 cm
- Object type:
- Work on paper
- Credit line:
- Purchased 1926
- Accession number:
- PG 1034
- Depicted:
- Thomas Campbell
- Subjects:
- Scottish literature Writing and literature
True colours
Sir Thomas Lawrence
Lawrence was a child prodigy, supporting his family from boyhood by selling pastel portraits to visitors to Bath. By 1786 he had moved to London where he briefly attended the Royal Academy Schools. He rapidly established himself as a brilliant and successful portrait painter, exhibiting an…
