Thomas Heathfield Carrick (4 July 1802 – 1874) was an English portrait miniature painter who portrayed many leading political and literary figures of his age. He developed the method of painting portraits on

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

rather than the usual ivory.

Life and work

Carrick was born in

Upperby Upperby is a suburb of Carlisle, in the City of Carlisle district, in the English county of Cumbria. The ward population taken at the 2011 census was 5,476. In 1870-72 the township/ chapelry had a population of 595. Location It is a few mi ...

, near

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

(now

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

), the son of John Carrick (d. 1852), thought to be a Carlisle Mill owner but listed on the register of births as a calico printer, and Mary (née) Anderson. He was educated at

Carlisle Grammar School Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

and by his uncle, the Rev. John Topping. He was said to be self-taught in art, but since he also began exhibiting at the Carlisle Academy in 1827, it is likely that he also attended art classes there.Top portrait painter was failed Carlisle chemist
(

News and Star The ''News and Star'' (formerly the ''Evening News and Star'' and ''Cumberland Evening News'') is a local tabloid newspaper in Cumbria. As of 18 October 2018, it belongs to Newsquest who produce several regional newspapers throughout the UK. ...

, 23 May 2008). After a quarrel, Carrick left home, trained, and then set up as a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

(in Carlisle). While in business he continued to paint miniatures, despite never having seen an example by another artist, apart from himself, until he came across a piece by

William Charles Ross Sir William Charles Ross (3 June 1794 – 20 Jan 1860) was an English portrait and portrait miniature painter of Scottish descent; early in his career, he was known for historical paintings. He became a member of the Royal Academy in 1842. Life ...

. He gradually built up a reputation as a portraitist in the locality, painting, for example, the actor Charles Kean (who was beginning to win popularity as a provincial actor). On 27 July 1829, he married Mary Mulcaster by whom he had five children. He was eventually able to sell up his apothecary business, and moved to

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

in 1836 (after exhibiting there in 1835), then to London, with his family, in November 1839. From 1841 to 1866, he exhibited his work at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, but never accepted an associateship. Amongst his illustrious subjects were

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, Dum ...

, Sir Robert Peel, Lord John Russell,

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

Samuel Rogers Samuel Rogers (30 July 1763 – 18 December 1855) was an English poet, during his lifetime one of the most celebrated, although his fame has long since been eclipsed by his Romantic colleagues and friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron. His ...

Caroline Norton Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton, Lady Stirling-Maxwell (22 March 1808 – 15 June 1877) was an active English social reformer and author.Perkin, pp. 26–28. She left her husband in 1836, who sued her close friend Lord Melbourne, then the Whig ...

Eliza Cook Eliza Cook (24 December 181823 September 1889) was an English author and poet associated with the Chartist movement. She was a proponent of political freedom for women, and believed in the ideology of self-improvement through education, some ...

, William Charles Macready,

Nellie Farren Ellen "Nellie" Farren (16 April 1848 – 29 April 1904) was an English actress and singer best known for her roles as the "principal boy" in musical burlesques at the Gaiety Theatre. Born into a theatrical family, Farren began acting as a ch ...

, Luigi Lablache,

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

and

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement. He strove to improve factory working conditions, promoted e ...

. In 1845, he received a medal from

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

for his work in painting miniatures on marble. Carrick abandoned miniature painting in 1868, the profession having been superseded by photography, and retired to Newcastle, having been awarded the Turner annuity (a pension) by the Royal Academy a year before his retirement. There he died in 1874. His son, John Mulcaster Carrick (1833–1896) was a landscape and figure painter. Among Carrick's pupils was landscape artist John Henry Mole (1814–1886).J H Mole
(John Nicholson Fine Art)

References

Attribution: *

External links

Portraits by Thomas Carrick
(National Portrait Gallery)
Portrait of an unknown elderly man
(Watercolour on marble - V&A)
Portrait of an unknown woman
(Watercolour on marble - V & A) {{DEFAULTSORT:CARRICK, Thomas Heathfield 1802 births 1874 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters People from Carlisle, Cumbria People educated at Carlisle Grammar School Portrait miniaturists 19th-century English male artists