18th century portrait of Dr Thomas Wise of Hillbank, Forfarshire, Scotland
A fine late 18th century Scottish oil on canvas portrait, circa 1795, traditionally identified as Dr Thomas Wise (1755–1819) of Hillbank, Dundee, physician and member of a prominent Scottish family.
Wise is depicted seated three-quarter length against a dark background, wearing a brown double-breasted coat and waistcoat with a white stock.
Thomas was the eldest son of David Wise of Lunan, Forfarshire, and Grizel Henderson. The Wise family had longstanding connections with Dundee and the surrounding area. His father David was described as an ingenious mechanician and became involved in the developing textile industry, establishing a cotton-spinning manufactory near what subsequently became Cotton Road.
Thomas became a physician and spent a period in Jamaica, where family histories record that he acquired the Claremont estate in the parish of Hanover. On returning to Scotland he purchased Hillbank, an estate immediately north of Dundee and close to his father’s cotton works.
In 1795, the approximate date of the present portrait, Wise married Anne Chalmers, second daughter of William Chalmers of Glenericht, Perthshire. The Chalmers family was prominent in Dundee civic life, William Chalmers having served for many years as Town Clerk of Dundee. Thomas and Anne subsequently had six children between 1796 and 1806.
Hillbank House appears on early maps of Dundee standing on an eminence amongst open fields, with a decorative approach leading towards the house. As Dundee expanded during the 19th century, the estate was gradually absorbed into the city, although its history remains preserved in local street names. Hillbank Road perpetuates the name of the former estate, while Jamaica Street, laid out following the development of part of Hillbank, was reportedly named in remembrance of Wise’s earlier life in Jamaica.
The following generation of the Wise family proved particularly interesting. Several of Thomas’s sons pursued careers in British India. His son Dr Thomas Alexander Wise (1802–1889) followed his father into medicine and served for many years with the Honourable East India Company. He held appointments at various stations in India and became Principal of both Hooghly and Dacca Colleges. A physician, scholar, author and collector, he subsequently wrote extensively on Indian medicine and related subjects.
Another son, Patrick Wise, became a magistrate in Bengal, while Captain William Wise succeeded his father at Hillbank and also served with the East India Company.
Of particular notes was that Wise also sat for a different portrait painted by Sir Henry Raeburn.
Stylistically, the portrait sits comfortably within the Scottish portrait tradition of the closing years of the 18th century, with its dark background, restrained composition and naturalistic treatment of the sitter. In the absence of documentary evidence identifying the painter, we have deliberately catalogued the work conservatively as Scottish School. It remains unattributed but further research may lead to an identified artist.
The portrait is presented in its impressive period gilt composition frame, richly decorated with scrolling foliage, acanthus and floral ornament. Both the painting and frame have recently undergone restoration and conservation.
Provenance: Previously in a private collection, Bath, Somerset.
Measuring: (Frame - 102 cm x 89 cm (Canvas - 77 cm x 63 cm)
Scottish school, c. 1795
