MEDIUM: Mezzotint,
DATE: undated, c.1761.
EDITION SIZE: Image size 12 5/16 x 9 3/4" (31.6 x 24.8 cm).
DESCRIPTION: No artist, publisher, or engraver noted. The image is a combination of the famous mezzotint portraits of Robert Monckton by Benjamin West and Thomas Hudson. The overall composition is that of the West portrait, but the uniform and title follow the Hudson portrait. Robert Monckton (1726-1782) was one of the most prominent British officers to participate in the wars against France in North America and Canada. He sailed to Nova Scotia in 1752 and took command of Fort Lawrence. After capturing Fort Beausejour, he became Acting Governor of Nova Scotia in the absence of Charles Lawrence. He led a battalion at the siege of Louisburg and was second in command to General Wolfe at the capture of Quebec. In 1760 Monckton seized the rich sugar island of Martinique from French control. This victory was considered one of the crowning points of his military career, since Martinique was a lucrative prize and one of France’s most important slave trading bases. Following his success in the Caribbean, Monckton became commander of British forces in Pennsylvania and in 1761 was appointed Governor of New York. In 1763 he returned to England and was made Governor of Berwick-on-Tweed and Governor of Portsmouth. He was offered a commission to return to America at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, but he refused to take up arms against the Colonies.
ADDITIONAL INFO:
CONDITION: Good condition, a strong and brilliant impression of this print. Framed in eighteenth-century black and gold Hogarth molding.
REFERENCE: Not listed in "English Mezzotint Portraits and their States" by Charles E. Russell.
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