Sir Robert Chambers
Arthur William Devisca. 1789
Yale Center for British Art
New Haven, CT, United States
Devis was commissioned to paint these portraits of Sir Robert Chambers (1737-1803) and his wife, Lady Frances (1758-1839), shortly after his arrival in Kolkata from London. That year, the couple celebrated their tenth marriage anniversary and ten years spent together in India. The portraits were likely made to celebrate Sir Robert's new role as the acting chief justice for the Supreme Court of Bengal in 1784. He is shown on the portico of the New Courthouse in Kolkata in his judges' robes, bewigged, and holding a legal document inscribed with "In the Supreme [Court]." Lady Chambers sits beneath a tree at their garden home in Bhowanipore, just outside of Kolkata.
The composition of both portraits mirrors the format of paintings of landowners and their country houses in Britain, of the type made by Devis's father, Arthur Devis (1712-1787), but here applied to India.
Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2021
- Title: Sir Robert Chambers
- Creator: Arthur William Devis, 1762–1822, British
- Creator Lifespan: 1762/1822
- Creator Nationality: British
- Creator Gender: male
- Date Created: ca. 1789
- Physical Dimensions: 42 x 28 5/8 inches (106.7 x 72.7 cm)
- Subject Keywords: sitting, dark, books, portrait, pen, wig, table, robes, quill, velvet, footrest, man, interior, red, seated
- External Link: See this work of art on the Yale Center for British Art website
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Repository Name: Yale Center for British Art
- Credit Line: Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
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