FINE ART : PAINTINGS

Title: Thomas, Lord Coningsby 1656 - 1729 (1692)
Object Name: Painting
Maker: Bate, Thomas fl. c. 1692 (Primary maker)
Bate, Thomas fl.c.1692 (artist)
Date Made: 1692
1692
Description: This is the only work known by Thomas Bate, who worked in Ireland towards the end of the seventeenth century. The work, an exquisite oval canvas, was discovered in 1973. Bate is not mentioned in the "bible" of Irish art studies - Stickland's Dictionary of Irish artists - and only a passing reference is made to him in the eighteenth-century notebooks of George Vertue, who identified Bate as living mostly in Ireland and being well known for painting on glass. Bate was probably a topographical painter and may also have worked as a miniaturist. Lord Coningsby, an ardent supporter of William III, acted as paymaster-general of the Williamite forces in Ireland in 1690. Coningsby fought in the battle of the Boyne and attended King William when he was wounded. In this painting he wears a colourful version of Roman dress, and is shown seated before his residence, Hampton Court.
Materials: oil on canvas
Catalogue Number: BELUM.U1883
Copyright: National Museums NI

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