[ 464 ] APRIL, 



BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PERSONS. 



The house (of which a brief account 

 with two plates, is given in the first vo- 

 lume of Britton's " Illustrations of the 

 Public Buildings of London") consists 

 of a picture-gallery, a statue-gallery, 

 drawing-rooms, dining-rooms, cabinets 

 for vases and other antique curiosities, 

 which he had collected in the course of 

 his travels. Alluding to the style of 

 this mansion, and that of his country 

 residence, at Deepden, near Dorking, 

 Mr. Hope thus expressed himself: 

 " In forming my collection, and in fit- 

 ting up my houses, my object has neither 

 been an idle parade of virtu, nor an 

 ostentatious display of finery. I have 

 observed, with regret, that most persons 

 employed in our manufactures, or in 

 furnishing our habitations, are rarely 

 initiated, even in the simplest rudiments 

 of design ; whence it has happened that 

 immense expense has been employed in 

 producing furniture without character, 

 beauty, or appropriate meaning." 



In 1805, Mr. Hope published the 

 drawings which he had made for his fur- 

 niture, &c. in a folio volume, entitled, 

 " Household Furniture and Internal 

 Decorations." Notwithstanding the 

 sneers of that very tasteful publication, 

 the Edinburgh Iteview, Mr. Hope's 

 work speedily effected a complete revo- 

 lution in the upholstery and all the inte- 

 rior decoration of houses. 



Mr. Hope was, in all respects, a muni- 

 ficent patron of art and of artists, and 

 even of the humbler mechanic ; for he 

 has been known to traverse obscure 

 alleys, lanes, and courts, to find out 

 and employ men of skill and talent in 

 their respective pursuits. Therwaldson, 

 the celebrated Danish sculptor, was 

 chiefly indebted to him for the early 

 support and patronage which he expe- 

 rienced. Flaxman was extensively em- 

 ployed by him ; and he enjoyed the sa- 

 tisfaction' of having excited the genius 

 and fostered the talents of Chantrey. 

 These are only a few of the numerous 

 instances in which his liberality was 

 nobly and advantageously employed. In 

 one case, however, his patronage was 

 returned by an act of the basest ingrati- 

 tude. Some dispute having arisen be- 

 tween Mr. Hope and a Frenchman of 

 the name of Dubost, respecting the 

 price and execution of a painting, the 

 artist vented his spleen by the exhibition 

 of an infamous caricature a picture 

 which he entitled Beauty and the Beast. 

 It is in the recollection of many, that, 

 in this pictorial libel, Mrs. Hope was 

 drawn as the Beauty, and her husband 

 as the Beast, laying his treasures at her 

 feet, and addressing her in the language 

 of the French tale. The picture was 

 publicly exhibited, and drew such 

 crowds of loungers and scandal-lovers 

 to view it, that from '20. to '30. a day 



THOMAS HOPE, ESQ. 



This gentleman, equally known in the 

 world of .fashion and the world of art, 

 was a descendant from the Hopes (Ba- 

 ronets) of Craig Hall, in the county of 

 Fife. The founder of the family ap- 

 pears to have been John de Hope, who 

 came from France in the train of Mag- 

 dalene, Queen of King James the First . 

 His grandson, Henry, an eminent mer- 

 chant, married Jeanne de T.ott, a French 

 lady, by whom he had two sons : Thomas, 

 created a Baronet in 1628 ; and Henry, 

 ancestor of Hope, who settled in Hol- 

 land, and amassed a large fortune in 

 commerce. Of this gentleman, Mr. 

 Hope was, we believe, a nephew, and 

 a partner in the concern. One of his 

 brothers still resides in Amsterdam ; 

 and another (Philip Hope, Esq.), in 

 Norfolk-street, London. The Hopes, 

 of Amsterdam, were proverbial for 

 wealth, for liberality, for the splendour 

 of their mansion, and for their extensive 

 and valuable collection of works of art. 

 Early in life, Mr. Hope, possessing 

 an ample fortune, travelled over various 

 parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa ; and 

 having, with a refined taste, acquired 

 a facility of drawing, he brought home 

 a large collection of sketches, principally 

 of the architecture and sculpture of the 

 different scenes. Soon after his return 

 to, and settlement in, London, he pub- 

 lished " A Letter, addressed to F. An- 

 nesley, Esq., on a Series of Designs for 

 Drumming College, Cambridge ;" in 

 which, founding his pretensions on what 

 he had seen ana examined in the course 

 of his travels, especially with reference 

 to architecture, he criticized, with con- 

 siderable severity, the series of plans, 

 elevations, &c. which had been produced 

 by Mr. Wyatt. In consequence, as it 

 has been said, of these criticisms, Mr. 

 Wyatt's designs were rejected ; and 

 Mr. Wilkins was afterwards employed 

 to commence the college. The build- 

 ing, however, has not been finished. 



Mr. Hope married the Hon. Louisa 

 Hope, the fifteenth child and youngest 

 daughter of the late Lord Decies, Arch- 

 bishop of Tuam, and brother to the late 

 Marquess of Waterford. By this lady, 

 he had three sons, who survive to la- 

 ment his loss. Of this Lady, eminent 

 for beauty, grace, and accomplishments, 

 a finely-engraved portrait, from Sir 

 Thoma's Lawrence's celebrated painting, 

 was published in La Belle Assemllee for 

 May, 1830. 



Having purchased a large house in 

 Duchess-street, Mr. Hope devoted much 

 time and study in finishing and fitting 

 up the interior, partly from his own 

 drawings, and partly in imitation of the 

 best specimens of ancient and modern 

 buildings in Italy. He made designs 

 for the whole, and also for the furniture. 



