NEWPORT HOUSE October 20th & 21st 2026

100 IMPERFECTIONS NOT STATED Fonsie Mealy’s Est. 1934 A set of four Views, “Bath and Royal Tunbridge Wells,” c. 1745, gouache on paper, approx. 25cms x 32cms (9½" x 12½"). (4) Framed in their original Hogarth frames, these four gouache paintings, depicting scenes in and around Bath and Tunbridge Wells, date from the mid-eighteenth century. The survival of such a set of four is exceptionally rare. Although slightly naive, they are painted with precision and delicacy, and accurately depict the townscapes and countryside of the period: Jane Austen would have been familiar with the buildings depicted in these works. The first of the four shows the arcade known as the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells; the second depicts North Parade and Terrace Walk in Bath, while the third is of a house and garden, probably near Tunbridge Wells, on the Avon River. The fourth depicts a large house with dormer windows in the countryside, again probably close to Bath. The four paintings can be confidently attributed to one artist, Thomas Loggan (or Loggon) (1706-c1780), a painter and shopkeeper whose diminutive stature seems in no way to have impeded his making a living in Georgian England. Born in Great Grimsby in Lincolnshire in 1706, Loggan was roughly the same age as Frederick, Prince of Wales, and began his career in the ’beau monde’ retinue of Frederick and his wife Augusta. A ‘cello player and keen cricketer, the Prince of Wales sponsored artists such as Van Loo, Philippe Mercier, John Wootton and George Knapton. A contrarian, he opposed anything his father George I proposed. He liked to sponsor Huguenots, including the American-born Paul Bertrand, and his wife Mary Deards, who had a famous ‘toyshop’ in Bath. In addition to expensive porcelain, stationary and writing materials, these shops sold gold snuff-boxes, watches, jewelry and trinkets. Around 1730, Thomas Loggan moved to Bath, where he opened “The Little Fanmaker”, a toyshop and teahouse where he sold his own paintings and fans. He included figures of known personages in his works. One of his fans depicts the great promoter of Bath, Richard ‘Beau’ Nash, promenading along the riverside at Harrison’s Walk, (now Parade Gardens). The second painting in the present set depicts North Parade and Terrace Walk in Bath; there was likely a connection between Loggan and the Bertrands, as Paul Bertand’s shop was on Terrace Walk. Another resident on Terrace Walk was the painter William Hoare, while Sally Lunn’s cake shop on North Parade passage was legendary. Although there was great rivalry between the spa towns of Bath and Tunbridge Wells in terms of attracting celebrities, both benefitted from the promotional genius of Beau Nash. The story of how the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells got its name dates back to a visit by Princess Anne of Denmark in the late seventeenth century. The Princess’s son fell on the street, and so she requested that the street be paved. This was not done, and on her next visit she expressed her annoyance, with the result that the street was quickly, and cheaply, paved with terracotta roof tiles; these were later replaced with stone. In his gouache painting, one of the set of four, Loggan represents the pink terracotta tiles, laid in a diagonal pattern, on the Upper Walk. He shows the colonnade, with elegantly dressed people promenading and socializing, and includes a self-portrait, on the lower right. In the British Museum is an engraving after a similar painting by Loggan, Remarkable Characters who were at Tunbridge Wells with Richardson in 1748, which was in the collection of Samuel Richardson, author of the novels Pamela and Clarissa. Richardson inscribed on the border the names of those Loggan had depicted, among them Dr. Johnson, Colley Cibber, David Garrick, William Pitt, the Duchess of Norfolk and other celebrities. Loggan again included a portrait of himself in the view. The inclusion of portraits of literary celebrities, actors and aristocrats would have enhanced the sales of these works, which were bought as souvenirs by visitors. Another work by Loggan in the British Museum shows the Market Place in Tunbridge Wells, and there are paintings and painted fans by him in the Victoria Art Museum and the Holburne Museum in Bath. A painting in the Tunbridge Wells Museum, dated 1748 and again similar to the present work, is used to illustrate the Heritage Walking Trail booklet for the town. €4000 - €6000 Dr. Peter Murray 2026 677. Thomas Loggan (British 1706 - 1780)