Thomas Pooley
, English, 1646-1723
Title
Portrait of Sir Philip Perceval, 2nd Bt (1656-1680)Datec.1670-1674
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
76.2 x 63.5 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 1996
Object numberNGI.4626
Label TextThis is one of a set of portraits of the three Perceval brothers by Pooley, two of which are in the National Gallery of Ireland. The portraits may have been painted when the Percevals were students at Christchurch College Oxford. The fate of the brothers lends the portraits considerable poignancy. Robert, a gambler and duellist, was murdered in London aged just twenty, Philip was poisoned at the age of twenty-four, and John died of jail fever at twenty-six. Pooley came to Dublin in 1676 and became the principal Establishment painter for two decades.