Thomas Gray (1787-1848) - more from RAMM
Portrait of Thomas Gray, the Railway Pioneer painted by Richard Augustus Clack (1801-1880) in 1848
© Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter. RAMM Accession No. 155/1881
Railway pioneer who died unrecognised in Alphington Road
By RAMM Curator of Art
Captivated by steam locomotion from childhood
Thomas Gray was a visionary whose ideas failed to achieve fruition in his own lifetime. Born in Leeds, he was captivated by steam locomotion from childhood. In 1820 he published Observations on a general iron railway, with plates and map illustrative of the plan; showing its great superiority ... over all the present methods of conveyance. In this work he argued that horse drawn transport would eventually be superseded by steam traction. To a later edition he also added detailed plans for a national rail network connecting the principal towns of England and Ireland.
Gray doggedly promoted his scheme in political circles and petitioned the government in 1823. During the late 1820s and 1830s trials were held with the aim of establishing the most effective form of locomotive power on smooth-edge rails. Unfortunately Gray's plans were by then out of date and whilst he had foreseen the impact of rail transport on society he was unable to make any practical contribution to the new technology. Thereafter he fell into financial difficulties and lived out his final years in Exeter. In October 1848 he died in poverty in a house in Alphington Road. Meanwhile the first passenger train from London Paddington had arrived at Exeter St. David's Station on 1st May, 1844.
Posterity to judge Gray favourably
Painted in the last year of his life, Gray's portrait depicts a man who knew that all hope of public recognition was lost. He nevertheless looks out with a determined gaze and points to his life's work - the dramatically highlighted construction manual with system drawings. The artist's personal relationship with Gray is not well documented but Clack was clearly well aware of the sitter's personal circumstances. In painting this portrait he may have hoped that posterity would judge Gray more favourably than his contemporaries had done. R.A. Clack's reputation in Exeter was considerable and if not for ill health he would undoubtedly have enjoyed greater notoriety beyond his home county. His posthumous biography in the Exeter Flying Post cites this portrait, one of several exhibited at the Royal Academy, (1) as one of his best works:
An example of his earlier work as a portrait painter is in the Museum, at Exeter : it is a likeness of Thomas Gray, the "Railway Pioneer," and shows a degree of talent which should have raised the painter to higher eminence than he ever attained in profession. (2)
Portrait by Richard Augustus Clack (1801-1880)
Oil on panel 38.1 x 28.3 cm, painted in 1848
PROVENANCE
Bequeathed by the artist, 1881.
NOTES / SOURCES
1. Exhibited in 1849, one of seventeen at the RA between 1830-1855.
2. Exeter Flying Post 15/11/1888, Notes and Gleanings.
This research was prepared for the Eye to Eye exhibtion at RAMM in 2006.