Portrait of Thomas Lister
by LAWRENCE, Sir Thomas, Oil on canvas, 240 x 149 cm
Thomas Lister, 1st Baron Ribblesdale (1752-1826) served as Member of Parliament for Clitheroe from 1773 to 1790. In 1775, at the outbreak of the American War of Independence he fitted out a frigate at his own expense which he placed at the disposal of the Government, and in 1779 fitted out a regiment of light horse called Lister’s Light Dragoons and gazetted a Major in the army.
The painting was originally intended to be one of a pair, together with a portrait of the sitter’s wife.