Streatham Worthies
Encyclopedia
The Streatham Worthies is the collective description for the circle of literary and cultural figures around the wealthy brewer Henry Thrale
and his wife Hester Thrale
who assembled at his country retreat Streatham Park
and were commemorated by a series of portraits by Joshua Reynolds
.
Reynolds painted these portraits over the course of about ten years. As well as the twelve bust-length male portraits, Reynolds also painted a double portrait of Thrale's wife Hester, and their daughter Hester Maria, nicknamed 'Queeney'. The usage the 'Streatham Worthies' was first coined by the novelist Fanny Burney
to describe the portraits. It is generally believed to be a playful reference to the celebrated 'Temple of British Worthies' at Stowe House
. The portraits were hung above the bookshelves in the library at Streatham Park. Burney noted that Thrale wanted:
The members of the Worthies were:
The double portrait of Hester Thrale
and eldest daughter Hester Maria Thrale
is also normally regarded as part of the set. This 1777-8 portrait is in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery
, New Brunswick.
The portraits were dispersed on the sale of the contents of Streatham Park in 1816.
In 2005
the first six portraits of the worthies as listed above were reunited in a single room with Reynold's portrait of Mrs Thrale and Hester Maria for the Tate Britain exhibition Joshua Reynolds - The Creation of Celebrity.
Mrs Thrale wrote that Sir Philip Jennings-Clerke
had pressed her to include him in the list of Worthies. Commentators have sometimes used the term for the wider intellectual circle around the Thrales and Johnson, in particular to include Fanny Burney
and Elizabeth Montagu
.
Henry Thrale
Henry Thrale was an 18th century English Member of Parliament and a close friend of Samuel Johnson. Like his father, he was the proprietor of the large London brewery, H. Thrale & Co....
and his wife Hester Thrale
Hester Thrale
Hester Lynch Thrale was a British diarist, author, and patron of the arts. Her diaries and correspondence are an important source of information about Samuel Johnson and 18th-century life.-Biography:Thrale was born at Bodvel Hall, Caernarvonshire, Wales...
who assembled at his country retreat Streatham Park
Streatham
Streatham is a district in Surrey, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
and were commemorated by a series of portraits by Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
.
Reynolds painted these portraits over the course of about ten years. As well as the twelve bust-length male portraits, Reynolds also painted a double portrait of Thrale's wife Hester, and their daughter Hester Maria, nicknamed 'Queeney'. The usage the 'Streatham Worthies' was first coined by the novelist Fanny Burney
Fanny Burney
Frances Burney , also known as Fanny Burney and, after her marriage, as Madame d’Arblay, was an English novelist, diarist and playwright. She was born in Lynn Regis, now King’s Lynn, England, on 13 June 1752, to musical historian Dr Charles Burney and Mrs Esther Sleepe Burney...
to describe the portraits. It is generally believed to be a playful reference to the celebrated 'Temple of British Worthies' at Stowe House
Stowe House
Stowe House is a Grade I listed country house located in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school. The gardens , a significant example of the English Landscape Garden style, along with part of the Park, passed into the ownership of The National Trust...
. The portraits were hung above the bookshelves in the library at Streatham Park. Burney noted that Thrale wanted:
- "the persons he most loved to contemplate… to preside over the literature that stood highest in his estimation".
The members of the Worthies were:
- Oliver GoldsmithOliver GoldsmithOliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
- Irish novelist and playwright,
- This c.1772 portrait is now in the National Gallery of IrelandNational Gallery of IrelandThe National Gallery of Ireland houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street. It was founded in 1854 and opened its doors ten years later...
, Dublin- Giuseppe Marc'Antonio BarettiGiuseppe Marc'Antonio BarettiGiuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti was an Italian-born English literary critic and author of two influential language-translation dictionaries...
literary critic and translator.
- Giuseppe Marc'Antonio Baretti
- This 1773 portrait is now in a Private Collection
- Edmund BurkeEdmund BurkeEdmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
- philosopher
- Edmund Burke
- This 1774 portrait is now in the Scottish National Portrait GalleryScottish National Portrait GalleryThe Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery on Queen Street, Edinburgh, Scotland. It holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. In addition it also holds the Scottish National Photography Collection...
, Edinburgh- Joshua ReynoldsJoshua ReynoldsSir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
- painter
- Joshua Reynolds
- Reynold's 1775 self portrait is now in at Tate BritainTate BritainTate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
- Samuel JohnsonSamuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
- author and lexicographer
- Samuel Johnson
- This pre-1778 portrait is also now at Tate BritainTate BritainTate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
- Charles BurneyCharles BurneyCharles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
- composer and music historian
- Charles Burney
- This 1781 portrait is in the National Portrait Gallery, London
- David GarrickDavid GarrickDavid Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
- actor
- David Garrick
- This 1775 portrait is now in the Hyde Collection at Houghton LibraryHoughton LibraryHoughton Library is the primary repository for rare books and manuscripts at Harvard University. It is part of the Harvard College Library within the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Houghton is located on the south side of Harvard Yard, next to Widener Library.- History :Harvard's first...
, Harvard University.- Arthur MurphyArthur MurphyArthur Murphy , also known by the pseudonym Charles Ranger, was an Irish writer.-Biography:He was born at Cloonyquin, County Roscommon, Ireland, the son of Richard Murphy and Jane French....
- Arthur Murphy
- Edwin SandysEdwin Sandys, 2nd Baron SandysEdwin Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys was the eldest son of Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys and his wife Letitia daughter of Sir Thomas Tipping, baronet of Wheatfield, Oxfordshire...
- William Henry LytteltonWilliam Lyttelton, 1st Baron LytteltonWilliam Henry Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton was the youngest son of Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 4th Baronet.As the youngest son, he did not expect to inherit the family estates and served in various government appointments. He became governor of colonial South Carolina in 1755, Governor of Jamaica in...
- Sir Robert ChambersRobert Chambers (judge)Sir Robert Chambers , was a jurist, Vinerian Professor of English Law, and Chief Justice of Bengal.-Biography:...
- jurist and judge
- Henry ThraleHenry ThraleHenry Thrale was an 18th century English Member of Parliament and a close friend of Samuel Johnson. Like his father, he was the proprietor of the large London brewery, H. Thrale & Co....
himself
- This 1777 portrait is now in the Hyde Collection at Houghton LibraryHoughton LibraryHoughton Library is the primary repository for rare books and manuscripts at Harvard University. It is part of the Harvard College Library within the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Houghton is located on the south side of Harvard Yard, next to Widener Library.- History :Harvard's first...
, Harvard University.
The double portrait of Hester Thrale
Hester Thrale
Hester Lynch Thrale was a British diarist, author, and patron of the arts. Her diaries and correspondence are an important source of information about Samuel Johnson and 18th-century life.-Biography:Thrale was born at Bodvel Hall, Caernarvonshire, Wales...
and eldest daughter Hester Maria Thrale
Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith
Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess Keith born Hester Maria Thrale was a British literary correspondent and intellectual. She was the eldest child of Hester Thrale, diarist, author and confidante of Samuel Johnson, and Henry, a wealthy brewer and patron of the arts...
is also normally regarded as part of the set. This 1777-8 portrait is in the Beaverbrook Art Gallery
Beaverbrook Art Gallery
The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is a small art gallery on the southwest bank of the Saint John River at the edge of the central business district of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada...
, New Brunswick.
The portraits were dispersed on the sale of the contents of Streatham Park in 1816.
In 2005
2005 in art
-Events:*12–27 February, 2005 – Christo and wife Jeanne-Claude create The Gates in New York's Central Park*30 September – Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.-Awards:...
the first six portraits of the worthies as listed above were reunited in a single room with Reynold's portrait of Mrs Thrale and Hester Maria for the Tate Britain exhibition Joshua Reynolds - The Creation of Celebrity.
Mrs Thrale wrote that Sir Philip Jennings-Clerke
Sir Philip Jennings-Clerke, 1st Baronet
Sir Philip Jennings-Clerke Sir Philip Jennings-Clerke Sir Philip Jennings-Clerke (around 1722 - January 1788, the son of Philip Jennings of Duddleston, he was baptised Philip Jennings. He changed his name to Jennings-Clerke in the early 1760s. A Member of Parliament for Totnes between 1768 and...
had pressed her to include him in the list of Worthies. Commentators have sometimes used the term for the wider intellectual circle around the Thrales and Johnson, in particular to include Fanny Burney
Fanny Burney
Frances Burney , also known as Fanny Burney and, after her marriage, as Madame d’Arblay, was an English novelist, diarist and playwright. She was born in Lynn Regis, now King’s Lynn, England, on 13 June 1752, to musical historian Dr Charles Burney and Mrs Esther Sleepe Burney...
and Elizabeth Montagu
Elizabeth Montagu
Elizabeth Montagu was a British social reformer, patron of the arts, salonist, literary critic, and writer who helped organize and lead the bluestocking society...
.