Portrait of the Irish lawyer and politician Philip Tisdall SL (1703–1777), signed and dated right of centre: Angelica Kauffman/Pinx. Ao. 177.(?), a paper label inscribed in an old hand on the stretcher: “The Right Hon. ble Philip Tisdall/Attorney General and afterwards Lord/Chancellor of Ireland = 1760/Married Mary Singleton – La Belle”, oil on canvas, 92 x 72 cm, framed

Provenance:
Austrian private collection.

Exhibited:
Angelika Kauffmann – Ein Weib von ungeheurem Talent, Vorarlberger Landesmuseum, Bregenz, and Angelika Kauffmann Museum, Schwarzenberg, 2007, no. 44.

Literature:
Angelika Kauffmann – Ein Weib von ungeheurem Talent, exh. cat., Ostfildern 2007, p. 112.

The sitter of the present painting, Philip Tisdall, was a member of the Irish House of Commons, where he represented the University of Dublin between 1739 and 1776, and from 1776 onwards, the town of Armagh. He pursued a successful career in the service of state jurisdiction. In 1742, he became Third Serjeant, in 1751, Solicitor General, and in 1760, Attorney General. In 1763, King George III appointed Tisdall Principal Secretary of State; one year later, he became a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. Due to his fierce temperament, Tisdall was called “Black Phil”. His wife Mary, née Singleton, was a famous beauty who kept a large household in their home in Leinster Street in Dublin and on their country estate, Stillorgan Park (cf. C. Helbok, Miss Angel, Vienna 1968, p. 107). Besides the present portrait of the statesman, Angelika Kauffmann painted a large portrait of Philip Tisdall and his family (private collection). In 1771, the painter spent several months in Dublin at the invitation of George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. With her elegant portraits, she had great success among the Anglo-Irish society, painting numerous likenesses of members of the wealthy Anglo-Irish nobility: portraits of Lord Townshend and his family, Lord and Lady Ely and two young ladies, Lady Caroline Damer, Lord Milton, and Lord Ferrard and his son. All of these are proof of the great popularity the painter enjoyed not only in England, but also in Ireland.