Thomas Hudson, The Radcliffe Family, About 1742. Oil paint on canvas; 104 1/4 × 162 1/8 in. (264.8 × 411.8 cm). Gift of the Berger Collection Educational Trust, 2019.7 

image height: 104 1/4 in, 264.795 cm; image width: 162 1/8 in, 411.7975 cm; window height: 103 5/8 in, 263.2075 cm; window width: 160 1/2 in, 407.67 cm; overall height: 114 1/2 in, 290.83 cm; overall width: 171 3/8 in, 435.2925 cm; overall depth: 3 in, 7.

European and American Art Before 1900

European Painting and Sculpture before 1900

This painting shows the family of Walter Radcliffe (1693-1752) and his wife Admonition. In 1741 they bought a splendid estate, Warleigh House near Plymouth, Devon, in southwest England. The Radcliffe Family, painted by Devon artist Thomas Hudson, was probably commissioned to celebrate the purchase. It is one of Hudson’s largest paintings and recalls in size and format the aristocratic family portraits of the previous century. But unlike the formality and decorum of those pictures, here the figures are represented informally, interacting affectionately, their closeness suggested by casual gestures. 

By descent in the Radcliffe family until sold under the terms of the Radcliffe Chattels Settlement; Sotheby’s, London, November 13, 1996, lot 52; from which acquired by William M. B. Berger and Bernadette Johnson Berger, Denver; Berger Collection Educational Trust; gifted to the Denver Art Museum, 2019. Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum and we will post information as it becomes available. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.