Date: c.1740

Medium: Oil on canvas

Measurements: H 240 x W 145 cm (E)

Artist: Jean-Baptiste van Loo

Work type: Painting

Acquisition method: unknown acquisition method

Thomas Winnington (1696-1746) was a distinguished politician, whom Horace Walpole described as “without equal in public life and marked out to be the Prime Minister of England”. Winnington was M.P. for Droitwich and latterly Worcester from 1725 until his death, and served as Lord of the Admiralty, Paymaster General of the Forces, and a Privy Councillor at various junctures in his career.

When King George III attempted to form an administration under Lords Bath and Carteret in 1746, Winnington declined three times to become Chancellor of the Exchequer. His death shortly after as a result of medical incompetence received widespread publicity.

In this portrait by the famous French portraitist, Jean-Baptiste Van Loo (who worked in London from 1738-1742), Thomas Winnington is depicted in the robes of the Recorder of the City of Worcester, a position he held from 1727 to 1746.

Location: Guildhall Second Floor – Assembly Room