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Arthur Hobbs

Engraver James McArdell Irish
After William Hoare British
Sitter Arthur Dobbs British
ca. 1752
Not on view
In this three quarter portrait the subject wears a wig, dark coat and vest, his right elbow rests on a table at left that supports a globe and he holds compasses and a map of North Carolina. In the distance there is a sailing ship. At this moment, in 1752, Dobbs was preparing to leave his family estate in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland and travel across the Atlantic to become Royal Governor of North Carolina. From 1745 he had beein purchasing land in the colony and encouraging skilled Ulster-Scots families to emigrate to America. This mezzotint is based on a portrait painted by William Hoare in Bath during the Christmas season of 1752. At this date, Dobbs been asked to accept the post following the death of the former governor. By December 1754 he was in North Carolina, living there until his death in 1765. In addition to public duties, Dobbs was a lifelong student of natural history, recording the first written description of the Venus Flytrap, researching honeybees, writing essays and corresponding with naturalists in the colonies and back in Britain.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Arthur Hobbs
  • Engraver: James McArdell (Irish, Dublin 1729–1765 London)
  • Artist: After William Hoare (British, Eye ca. 1707–1792 Bath)
  • Sitter: Arthur Dobbs (British, Girvan, Ayrshire 1689–1765 Brunswick Town, North Carolina)
  • Date: ca. 1752
  • Medium: Mezzotint; first state of two
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 15 9/16 × 10 13/16 in. (39.5 × 27.5 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Charles Allen Munn, 1924
  • Object Number: 24.90.658
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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