Thomas Frye
Illustration — Thomas Frye, 1710–62, Thomas Frye, Dated 1759, Oil on canvas, feigned oval, National Portrait Gallery, London Primary Collection NPG 5471 National Portrait Gallery, London Thomas Frye (c. 1710 – 3 April 1762) was an Anglo-Irish artist, best known for his portraits in oil and pastel, including some miniatures and his early mezzotint engravings. He was also the patentee of the Bow porcelain factory, London, and claimed in his epitaph to be "the inventor and first manufacturer of porcelain in England," though his rivals at the Chelsea porcelain factory seem to have preceded him in bringing wares to market.
Also recorded as Theodore Frye · Thamas Frye · Fry · Frye
Thomas Frye
Thomas Frye · The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift from Family and Friends in memory of Josephine Little Zuppan · CC0
- Born
- 1710.
- Died
- 1762. · London.
- Nationality
- Ireland, England and United Kingdom.
- Occupation
- painter, inventor, ceramicist, printmaker and copper engraver.
- Fields
- portrait.
- Languages
- English.
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Thomas Frye, 1710–62, Thomas Frye, Dated 1759, Oil on canvas, feigned oval, National Portrait Gallery, London Primary Collection NPG 5471 National Portrait Gallery, London Thomas Frye (c. 1710 – 3 April 1762) was an Anglo-Irish artist, best known for his portraits in oil and pastel, including some miniatures and his early mezzotint engravings. He was also the patentee of the Bow porcelain factory, London, and claimed in his epitaph to be "the inventor and first manufacturer of porcelain in England," though his rivals at the Chelsea porcelain factory seem to have preceded him in bringing wares to market.
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wikidata · Q3893676 · wikipedia · Thomas Frye
In this article
Biography
Biography
Frye was born in Edenderry, County Offaly, Ireland, in 1710; in his youth he went to London to practice as an artist. His earliest works are a pair of pastel portraits of boys, one dated 1734 (Earl of Iveagh). For the Worshipful Company of Saddlers he painted a full-length portrait of Frederick, Prince of Wales (1736, destroyed 1940), which he engraved in mezzotint and published in 1741. He retired to Wales in 1759 for the sake of his lungs, but soon returned to London and resumed his occupation as an engraver, publishing the series of life-size fancy portraits in mezzotint, by which he is most remembered. He died of consumption on 2 April 1762 and was buried at Hornsey. Frye had five children; his two daughters assisted him in painting porcelain at Bow until their marriages. Mezzotint from the 'Twelve heads drawn from nature and as large of life' series. Chester Beatty Library • Illustration — Self-portrait. Chester Beatty Library • Illustration — Her most excellent Majesty Charlotte, Queen of Great Britain. Mezzotint, London, 1762. Chester Beatty Library
The recorded working language is English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are portrait. Work by Thomas Frye is recorded in the collections of Nationalmuseum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Tate and National Gallery of Canada.
Thomas Wright. Mezzotint by T. Frye, 1737, after himself., 1737, by Thomas Frye
Thomas Frye · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection
Thomas Haselden. Mezzotint by J. Faber, junior, 1740, after T. Frye, 1735., 1740, by Thomas Frye
Thomas Frye · Wellcome Collection, London · Wellcome Collection
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1710–1762
The full dated record · 4 entries
1710
Thomas Frye born at Dublin.
1750
Lieutenant Colonel George Walsh is dated 1750.
1760
First Series of Life-Sized Heads: Mrs. Frye (1760) is digitised and catalogued by Internet Archive.
1762
Thomas Frye died at London.
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Frye, Thomas (1710–1762), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2018
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2018
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3893676: Thomas Frye
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Thomas Frye”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
References
Citations
References
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scholarly publication
Institutional witnessInstitutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q3893676: Thomas FryeWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Thomas Frye is recorded as painter, inventor, ceramicist, printmaker and copper engraver.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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