Auction details
Pictures, Antique Furniture & Collectors'
offered by
Clifton House
1 & 2 Clifton Road Cambridge, CBI 7EA 
|
Thomas Douglas Guest (British, 1781-1845)
Portrait of Tom Belcher, the Pugilist
oil on canvas
75 x 70cm
A mezzotint of the painting was made by C Turner, and
published by Belcher himself in 1811
”The most scientific pugilist that ever entered a ring, only
wanting strength to be, I won’t say what. He appears to
walk before me now, as he did that evening, with his
white hat, white great coat, thin genteel figure, springy
step, and keen, determined eye” George Borrow, Lavengro
Tom Belcher (1783-1854) was the younger of two
Bristolian brothers who enjoyed great fame at the height
of bare fist fighting’s popularity. His three fights against
Sam Elias ‘Dutch Sam’ were among the classics of the
day, and he twice beat the Irishman Dan Dogherty, the
second meeting arranged by Lord Byron, champion of
the fistic arts. In 1814, Belcher became landlord of the
Castle Tavern in Holborn, the most famous pugilistic pub
of the day, and unofficial Headquarters of the ring. In
1820, he published The Art of Boxing, one of the
earliest books on the sport. He was also one of the 18
pugilists employed as ‘security’ at the coronation of
George IV. He retired from the Castle Tavern in 1828,
and Pierce Egan noted that the lucky Tom Belcher now
passes his days in a very handsome cottage on Finchley
Common, living at his ease like a man of fortune, with
his dog and his gun, to traverse the fields when he feels
inclined for a day’s shooting. In 1842, after 14 years
absence from the ring, Belcher took part in a sparring
match with Dick Curtis. Pugilistica wrote that the beauty
of his position, and quickness and neatness of his stops
and hits, reminded us of what was indeed the palmy
days of the Ring. Belcher died from apoplexy at his
house in Trafalgar Square, Park Road, Peckham in
December 1854.
Guest entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1802 at
the age of 21, and was gold medallist in 1805. He made
his name as a painter of historical and classical subjects
Condition reportRelined and restored.
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