Philip Hussey, British, 1713-1783
Title: Portrait of Samuel Madden (1686-1765)
Date: c.1760
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
73 x 60 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 2001
Object Number: NGI.4695
DescriptionMadden, a Church of Ireland clergyman, was co-founder of the Dublin Society, a body established to promote Irish manufactures and arts. Madden's friends included Dean Swift and George Berkeley. He was a prolific writer, whose work ranged from Themistocles, a tragedy published in 1727, to Reflections and Resolutions Proper for the Gentlemen of Ireland as to their conduct for the service of their country of 1738. He was nicknamed 'Premium Madden' for the prize he established in the Dublin University to reward excellence in art and technical work. He was also a notable art collector, and left a number of master paintings to Trinity College Dublin. Philip Hussey's early interest in art developed at sea, where he passed time drawing the figureheads of the ships on which he was working. He subsequently became a prolific and successful portrait painter.
ProvenancePurchased, Sotheby's, London, Irish Sale, 18 May 2001, lot 119
Label TextMadden, a Church of Ireland clergyman, was a co-founder of the Dublin Society, established to promote Irish manufactures and arts, and a close associate of Dean Swift and George Berkeley. He was a prolific writer, whose work ranged from Themistocles, a tragedy published in 1727, to Reflections and Resolutions Proper for the Gentlemen of Ireland: as to their conduct for the service of their country of 1738. He obtained the sobriquet ‘Premium Madden’ for the prize he established at Trinity College, Dublin to reward excellence in art and technical work, and was a notable art collector.