Portrait of Cornelius Smelt, Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man
Date made: 1826
Artist: Barber, Thomas
Description: This is a portrait by Thomas Barber, showing Cornelius Smelt, Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man from 1805 until his death from Cholera in 1832. Smelt appears dressed in civilian attire, wearing a brown coat with white silk scarf or cravat. After the Dukes of Atholl, the Murray family, had sold their rights in the Isle of Man to the Crown under the act of Revestment, they none the less wished to retain the post of Governor. Due to the long absences of the Governor, a post of Lieutenant Governor was subsequently created. Smelt was by nature a liberal, and was appointed to the post as a useful counterweight to the aristocratic and autocratic Murrays. He was thus highly popular with the Manx, and upon his death the Smelt memorial was erected in Castletown, the only such monument to a Lieutenant Governor.
Measurements: unframed artwork: 77 cm x 64 cm
Materials: oil on canvas
Object name: painting
Collection: Art Collection
ID number: 1954-1689