A pair of autograph letters signed by artist Thomas Phillips Reform Act 1830-32

PHILLIPS, Thomas (1770-1845). Two autograph letters signed concerning a portrait commission and political unrest in Birmingham, Hagley Hall, 6 September 1830, and 8 George Street, 23 May 1832.

Two autograph letters signed, comprising five and a half pages in total, each 230 x 180 mm, on folded sheets. The first with integral address panel addressed to W. Phipson, Birmingham. Original folds, light toning and minor edge wear, with a small stain to the right-hand edge of the first letter and a puncture hole to its final leaf, clear of the main text. Otherwise very good.

Two related letters concerning Phillips's commission to paint a portrait of Mr F. Smith. In the first, Phillips agrees to undertake the portrait, stating his customary charge of fifty guineas, and discusses arrangements for staying with Phipson while carrying out the work.

In the second, Phillips reports that Smith's portrait has been dispatched to Birmingham by van. He explains that political disturbances had discouraged him from sending it sooner and discusses the agitation surrounding the Reform Bill, expressing the hope that its passage will bring a period of peace. He criticises Mr Attwood and his political union, while also acknowledging his regard for Lord Grey. The unrest has affected his own livelihood: public attention has been diverted from his exhibition, leaving receipts below expectations despite favourable responses to the pictures.

Thomas Phillips was a leading English portrait painter and Royal Academician. He gives a frank account of the effect of political agitation and the Reform Bill on the business of exhibiting and selling paintings.