Completed East of England and The Midlands: Artists and Subjects, Portraits: British 19th C 8 comments Can you help us identify this Ipswich Mayor?
Photo credit: Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service: Ipswich Borough Council Collection
We'd like to try and help you find out the identity of this Ipswich Mayor if it is not already known.
Completed, Outcome
This discussion is now closed. We reached the conclusion that the sitter in this portrait is David Henry Booth, Mayor of Ipswich 1879–1880, confirming the Collection’s own initial thoughts.
Thank you to Kieran Owens, who found a newspaper report from The Ipswich Journal in 1881 referencing the already known artist and the sitter. To anyone viewing this discussion for the first time, please see below for all the comments that led to this conclusion.
7 comments
The Collection commented: 'We have a few likely candidates for this now. It could be John Henry Josselyn (1888–1889) or David Henry Booth (1879–1880). The study of facial features of photographs of these two candidates indicates that it is most likely Booth.'
The Ipswich Journal, of Tuesday 25th January 1881, in its review of an exhibition of the Ipswich Fine Art Club, carried the following description:
"On the opposite side is the portrait of Mr. D. H. Booth, attired in his official robes as Mayor of Ipswich, with the civic chain and pendant. Here again the artist - Mr. W. R. Symonds - has been remarkably successful in catching the expression of his subject, and there is a carefulness of execution about the rest of the picture which, with the coloured robes of office, is an exceedingly handsome one."
The painting is signed bottom right and if it is dated to 1880 (which is unclear from the available image), this is probably the one of Booth as described above, especially as Josseyln was not mayor until eight years later.
Many thanks for the comments and we can now change the details of this title to reflect that it is David Henry Booth.
It does also look extremely like Felix Thornley Cobbold- note the wave of hair to the left-sitters right .
https://family-tree.cobboldfht.com/people/view/201
Who was also Mayor- and left the bequest for all those purchases of paintings.
From what I have read about Felix Thornley Cobbold he became Mayor of Ipswich in 1897 whereas from the record of the collection the W R Symonds painting dates to 1880. If this is correct it seems much more likely that the sitter is indeed David Henry Booth. But, yes Louis, the two men do look quite alike!
This recent discussion, 'Can you help us identify this Ipswich Mayor?', has moved rapidly to the conclusion that the mayor depicted is David Henry Booth, on the basis that the portrait coincides with the date of Booth's mayoralty and is mentioned in a contemporary press report. This conclusion is accepted by the collection (25 January). Hence this recommendation to close the discussion, subject to Grant's agreement as Group Leader, East of England.
Thank you Jacob. I support your recommendation fully.