ARTWORKS

Thomas Bernard (1750–1818) (copy after John Opie)

Mabel Beatrice Messer (1874–1950)

The Royal Institution

Thomas Bernard (1750–1818)

Image credit: The Royal Institution

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Notes

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Thomas Bernard was a social reformer who retired after a successful career in conveyancing and marriage to an heiress to become a philanthropist.

Bernard was particularly concerned with promoting the welfare of the poor; he was Treasurer of the Foundling Hospital between 1795 and 1806 and also helped to found the Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor. He was also active in founding an institution for the promotion of Fine Arts and the Royal Institution of Great Britain (Ri), where this painting hangs. The Ri was set up to promote science and new inventions for ‘the common Purposes of Life’, quite in line with Bernard’s aim of improving the lives of the general population.

This is a copy of the original portrait by John Opie which Dr William Rushton Parker arranged to have painted and then donated to the Ri.

The Royal Institution

London

Title

Thomas Bernard (1750–1818)

Date

1920s

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 88 x W 75 cm

Accession number

RIIC 0635

Acquisition method

gift from Dr Rushton Parker, 1930

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The Royal Institution

21 Albermarle Street, London, Greater London W1S 4BS England

Not all locations are open to the public. Please contact the gallery or collection for more information
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Artist or maker

Mabel Beatrice Messer

1874–1950

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