Core Record

On back: pen: 'Reg. No. 327 Portrait of Mr Thos. Ingham.'; chalk: 'INGHAM'; chalk: 'INGHAM'

Based on the stylistic development of paintings by Gagliardini at Blackburn, this would appear to be a fairly early work; equally, although the depiction of the sitter is somewhat undefined and lacking in detail, he appears to be young in this portrait. The ubiquitous formal black jacket and bow tie, the uniform of most men at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, is impossible to date. (See dating notes for BLKMG:P331)

Little can be established about Thomas Ingham, of Oakdene, West View, Cop o' th' Low, Tockholes, except that he was obviously a private man; despite his substantial collection of paintings and generous bequest to the museum, there was not even an obituary published in the regional press when he died on the 31 Januray 1936. The paintings which he had loaned to the museum in October 1932 then became part of the permanent collection. However, we may deduce something of his character as a collector. What is notable about his collection is the very personal relationship it reveals to the artists involved. There is the portrait of him painted by Gagliardini (from whom he acquired seven paintings), which suggests that they must have met at least once, and possibly that he bought his paintings in person from the artist. Then there are the two oil paintings by Henri Duhem and his wife Marie, both inscribed ‘to Ingham' in very warm terms. The painting by Marie depicts a small child in a sun-dappled woodland glade, and speaks of a very personal relationship to their ‘patron'; the intimacy of this picture, with the obvious affection of the inscription, suggests that they knew each other well, that he may have visited them and known personally the child in the picture. All this begs for some future research into the Ingham collection.