A York Georgian Artist: Philippe Mercier

by Allison Sharpe (YGS Communications Manager)

Philip Mercier, 1735

by John Faber Jr, after Philip Mercier

Mezzotint

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, 1741

by Philippe Mercier

Oil on canvas

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, 1733

by Philip Mercier

Oil on canvas

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, c.1725

Inscribed by Horace Walpole, ‘Mercier the Painter, his first wife, and Children’

by Philippe Mercier

Etching

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, 1741

by Philippe Mercier

Oil on canvas

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, 1741

by Philippe Mercier

Oil on canvas

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, 1742 or after

by and sold by John Faber Jr, after Philip Mercier

Mezzotint

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, 1743

by Philip Mercier

Oil on canvas

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’), 1740s-1750s

after Philip Mercier

Mezzotint

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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