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. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

rather than the usual

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

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 in Cumberland (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. C ...

), the son of John Carrick (d. 1852), thought to be a Carlisle Mill owner but listed on the register of births as a

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

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 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 ...

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 t ...

(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. He gradually built up a reputation as a portraitist in the locality, painting, for example, the actor

Charles Kean Charles John Kean (18 January 181122 January 1868), was an English actor and theatre manager, best known for his revivals of Shakespearean plays. Life Kean was born at Waterford, Ireland, a son of actor Edmund Kean and actress Mary 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, 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 Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

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. ...

, Caroline Norton,

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 William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor. Life He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the t ...

, Nellie Farren,

Luigi Lablache Luigi Lablache (6 December 1794 – 23 January 1858) was an Italian opera singer of French and Irish ancestry. He was most noted for his comic performances, possessing a powerful and agile bass voice, a wide range, and adroit acting skills: Lepo ...

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 tran ...

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. In 1845, he received a medal from Prince Albert 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 John Mulcaster Carrick (1833 – 22 September 1896) was an English Victorian painter, etcher, and illustrator. He painted mostly landscapes and genre subjects, in a loosely Pre-Raphaelite style. Life Carrick was born in Carlisle in 1833 and b ...

(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