by Allison Sharpe (YGS Communications Manager)
Philip Mercier
by John Faber Jr, after Philip Mercier
Mezzotint, 1735
NPG D5677, Given by Claude Phillips, 1911
Image courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London ©
Berlin born Huguenot draughtsman, painter, print-maker and art dealer Philippe (or ‘Philip’)
Mercier (1689/91-1760) spent rather over a decade in York between about 1739 and 1751.
During this time he focused on portraiture, and many of these works remain in Yorkshire
collections today, bearing witness to the artist’s associates and clientele.
Miss Adams
by Philippe Mercier
Oil on canvas, 1741
York Art Gallery (YORAG : 49), Gift from Colonel Little, 1887
Image courtesy of York Museums Trust
Mercier had excellent professional credentials, having followed his Berlin training with
travels to Italy and France. He is thought to have come to England in 1716, married
Margaret Plante at St Martin’s in the Fields in 1719 and settled at nearby upmarket
Leicester Fields (Leicester Square). This was also where Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales
(1707-51) lived upon his arrival from the Continent in December 1728. Early the next year,
on 26 January, Mercier won the role of Principal Painter, becoming Library Keeper in 1730.
Prince and artist were already acquainted: in fact Mercier had painted Frederick years
before, in Hanover.
The Music Party
by Philip Mercier
Oil on canvas, 1733
NPG 1556, Purchased, 1909
Image courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London ©
‘The Music Party’ depicts Frederick at the cello performing a trio with his sisters Amelia and
Caroline, while Anne (at loggerheads with her brother at this time) looks up from her book
of Milton poems to gaze at the viewer. Framed by the foliage of trees and a rose bush, the
group is shown in front of The Dutch House at Kew. Two further versions of this subject
exist, at Windsor Castle and Cliveden. Projecting an harmonious sibling group, it is probable
that these works were actually commissioned by Queen Caroline, and represent her hopes,
rather than reality (see Brett Harrison). At any rate, not only did Mercier paint for the
prince, but he gave lessons in drawing and painting to the princesses, too. Another duty was
to acquire miniatures and paintings for Frederick’s collection.
La famille en promenade
Inscribed by Horace Walpole, ‘Mercier the Painter, his first wife, and Children’
by Philippe Mercier
Etching, c.1725
The British Museum (1852,0214.347); Purchased from A.E. Evans & Sons, 1852
Image courtesy of The Trustees of the British Museum (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
However, a warrant of 7 October 1736 ended Mercier’s tenure as Principal Painter, and he
was last paid as Librarian in 1738. By then Margaret had died: two months later in 1735, he
married Dorothy Clapham at St Mary’s, Whitechapel, and in 1737 was living at the Great
Piazza, Covent Garden. At different points Mercier also had lodgings at Kew, St James’s and
Kensington Palaces.
Mary Fairfax
by Philippe Mercier
Oil on canvas, 1741
Fairfax House, PC1994/370; Purchased by Mr & Mrs A. Royle, 1994
Image courtesy of Fairfax House (CC BY-NC)
The reasons for Mercier’s decision to quit the capital – centre of the English art world – for
York, remain obscure. Queen Caroline’s death on 20 November 1737 and the loss of her
patronage might have been an important factor (Harrison). Yet while pursuing a busy
painting career in York, he maintained his association with London engravers, with many of
his pictures continuing to be copied for production as prints. Mercier travelled to and from
the capital, also visiting Ireland in 1747 and Scotland in 1750. Yet he was to move back to
London in 1751, the year of Frederick’s untimely death, and soon after made a round trip to
Portugal. As this venture was sponsored by group of English merchants, wishing to have
portraits made, it is likely that the York wine importers Thompson and Croft were involved.
John Philips, Aged 116
by Philippe Mercier
Oil on canvas, 1741
Temple Newsam House (LEEAG.PA.0022.0013); Gift from Lord Halifax, 1948
Image courtesy of Leeds Museums and Galleries
The (below) print made after this large-scale oil painting bears different information, with
the inscription, ‘John Philips Gent: Aged 117 – of Thorner near Bramham Park in YORKSHIRE
Born in Cleveland 1625. Dyed Jan: yᵉ 4th: 174½’.
John Philips
by and sold by John Faber Jr, after Philip Mercier
Mezzotint, 1742 or after
NPG D40187, Acquired, 1952
Image courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London ©
Attracted to the heart of York, the Mercier family resided within the Cathedral precincts in,
‘a Convenient sash’d house with a large Garden, Coach-house and Stable’. According to
authorities John Ingamells (Art Assistant, later Curator of York Art Gallery) and Robert
Raines, Dorothy Mercier also painted. Perhaps unfairly they suggest that her hand might
account for weaknesses in Mercier’s 1740s output. After her husband’s death in 1760,
Dorothy exhibited miniatures and watercolours. She was also a printseller and stationer –
outliving her daughter Charlotte Mercier (1738-1762), a pastellist – and was last mentioned
in 1768.
Francis Drake, Surgeon and Historian of York
by Philip Mercier
Oil on canvas, 1743
MHCPA.1743.1
Image courtesy of York Mansion House and Guildhall (CC BY-NC)
Mercier’s York period is known as his most productive, with over 160 paintings made in 13
years. He was clearly working hard. As well as designing mezzotints for sale via subscription
through London and York print sellers, he also actually collected payments in person. It is
possible that working for a regional clientele, ranging from nobility to merchants, gave
Mercier a sense of freedom that led to an easy informality of poses and subject matter.
Sadly, when he returned to London it was to find a changed art scene – other artists now
dominated portraiture and the conversation piece – collectors’ taste in prints had moved
on. In hindsight, therefore, Mercier’s Yorkshire output can be seen as something of a
commercial and creative heyday.
Charlotte Mercier (‘Miss playing with Cup and Ball’)
after Philip Mercier
Mezzotint, 1740s-1750s
NPG D5676; Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries
and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966
Image courtesy of National Portrait Gallery, London ©
References:
John Ingamells and Robert Raines, ‘A Catalogue of the Paintings, Drawings and Etchings of
Philip Mercier’ in Walpole Society, volume 46 (for 1976-1978), 1978, pp. 1-70.
Brett Harrison, ‘Philip Mercier (1691-1760) and Queen Caroline’ in The British Art Journal,
Vol. 20, No. 3, Winter 2019/2020, pp. 34-41.
The author thanks YGS Vice President (and former Curator, York Art Gallery) Richard Green
for advice.
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