Stephen Slaughter, Portrait Painter
(d. 1765)
Portrait Painter
From A Dictionary of Irish Artists 1913
No biographical details of the early life of this artist are known. His name first appears upon an etching, done in 1733, from a drawing by Parmegiano, then in the collection of Dr. Hickman to whom the print is dedicated, Stephn. Slaughter f. 1733. As a painter he is first heard of in 1734, when he was in Ireland and painted a portrait of Nathaniel Kane, Lord Mayor of Dublin. He remained in Ireland a few years, occasionally visiting England, as certain dated portraits, such as those of "the Hon. John Spencer," "Lady Georgina Spencer," "Sir Robert Walpole" and others show. While in Ireland he painted the portraits of many important personages. About 1746 or 1747 he settled in London and obtained a leading position in his profession; and he was appointed Keeper of the King's Pictures. He died at Kensington on 15th May, 1765. Slaughter's portraits are met with in the old country houses in Ireland, and are generally signed and dated. His figures are well posed, with a good sense of line; he seems to have delighted in the rendering of the characteristic folds, textures and sheen of silk, lawn and lace, but his flesh painting was weak, and so the faces are the least satisfactory parts of his portraits. A good example of his work is the portrait of "Archbishop Hoadly" in the National Gallery of Ireland.
Redgrave says that "his sister had some repute for her drawings."
Among Slaughter's portraits are:
Bishop Baxter. Formerly in the collection of Jonathan Sisson, Dublin, and sold by Messrs. Gernon in 1835.
Lady Ann Conolly. Belonged to J. Cooper Walker's father.
Michael Cox, Bishop of Ossory. Signed Stepn. Slaughter Pinxt. Dublin 1743-4. [National Gallery of Ireland; deposited by Col. Villiers Stuart of Castletown, Carrick-on-Suir.]
Anne O'Brien, wife of Bishop Michael Cox. Signed and dated 1746. [National Gallery of Ireland; deposited by Col. Villiers Stuart, of Castletown, Carrick-on-Suir.]
Sir Compton Domvile, Bart. Ex. South Kensington in 1867 by Sir C. Domvile.
Robert, 1st Earl of Farnham. [Lord Farnham.] Painted in 1743 when Robert Maxwell.
John Hoadly, Archbp. of Armagh. Signed and dated 1744. [National Gallery of Ireland.]
Juliana, Viscountess Ikerrin. Dated 1746. Earl of Cork's collection at Marston Hall, sold at Christie's, 25th Nov., 1905.
Nathaniel Kane, Lord Mayor of Dublin, 1734. Engraved in mezzotint by John Brooks.
Elizabeth (Brownlow), Lady Knapton, wife of John, 1st Lord Knapton. [Viscount De Vesci, Abbeyleix.] Signed and dated 1744.
Samuel Madden, D.D. [Lt.-Colonel John C. W. Madden, Hilton Park, Clones.]
Jane Madden, wife of foregoing. [Lt.-Colonel John C. W. Madden, Hilton Park, Clones.]
Rose, wife of the Rt. Hon. Anthony Malone. [The Misses Dunne, Brittas, Queen's Co.]
Charles, 2nd Duke of Marlborough. [Earl Spencer.]
Edward, 2nd Earl of Meath. Collection of John Gernon, sold in Dublin in 1854.
Henrietta, daughter of Sir E. O'Brien, Bart. Painted in 1741. [Earl of Inchiquin.]
Lt.-General Richard St. George. Engraved in mezzotint by M. Ford.
Henry Boyle, Earl of Shannon. Painted in Dublin in 1745; signed and dated. [S. Hudson, 3 Dante Road, Newington Butts, 1902.] Ex. South Kensington, 1867, by Sir C. C. Domvile, Bart.
Henry Boyle, Earl of Shannon. Painted in Dublin in 1744. [Lindo S. Meyers, 10 Queen Street, Mayfair, London.] From Earl of Cork's collection at Marston Hall, sold at Christie's, 25th November, 1905.
Henry Boyle, Earl of Shannon. [Earl of Shannon.]
Henry Boyle, Earl of Shannon. [Col. the Hon. H. Boyle Bernard, Coolmain Castle, Co. Cork, 1872.]
Sir Hans Sloan, as President of the Royal Society. Painted in 1736. [National Portrait Gallery.]
Hon. John Spencer. Painted in 1737. [Duke of Marlborough.]
Lady Georgina Spencer. Painted in 1737. [Duke of Marlborough.]
John, 1st Earl Spencer, as a boy. [Earl Spencer.]
John, 1st Earl Spencer, as a boy, a different picture. [Earl Spencer.]
Thompson, the poet. Praised in fourteen lines of verse in "The Gentleman's Magazine" for December, 1736.
Sir Edward Walpole, in robes of the Bath. Formerly at Strawberry Hill.
Sir Robert Walpole. Dated 1740. [Capt. E. Connolly, Castletown.] Presented by Walpole to the Rt. Hon. William Conolly.
Portrait of a lady holding her young daughter in her lap. Dated 1745. Christie's, 20th Dec., 1909.
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