Thomas Hickey

Thomas Hickey (1741-1824) was an Irish artist who travelled the world visiting and working in countries like India, China, Ireland, England, Portugal and Italy. He is particularly known for his rustic representation of Indian native folk and places. Born in Dublin, Ireland, Hickey learnt from Robert West at the Royal Dublin Society. Fetching accolades at an early age, he received multiple awards, while being less revered in his native country. 

Thomas was popular for portraits, which he created while touring several nations. In his earlier days, during his time in India, his ship was captured by French and Spanish fleets who took him all the way to Lisbon where he stayed and undertook a lot of commissioned work. After a few years, he found his way to Bengal. Although creating portraits in chalk, after a brief education in Italy he switched to oil paintings.

Hickey painted portraits of the local English hierarchy and even published a book titled The History of Painting and Sculpture. He arrived in India by the time of the fourth Mysore War, which proved to be an evocative subject for his paintings and kept him engaged. He was also commissioned by Tipu Sultan for portraits of himself, his sons, uncles and subedars.

On his return to England, Thomas was signed up as the official portraitist for Lord Macartney's expedition to China. He was also an active contributor to the exhibitions of the Royal Academy. After the expedition, he returned to Ireland on account of his brother's death where he gained commissioned work from Dr. Robert Emmet, who served as a state physician for Ireland. His duty was to paint portraits of the doctor's children, Robert and Mary. Thomas Hickey worked in multiple countries till his demise in Madras.