En: Frederick Gustavus Fowke
Frederick Gustavus Fowke
by Dr David Harrison
The subject of the above portrait of Sir Frederick Gustavus Fowke, 1st Baronet (1782-1856), Provincial Grand Master for Leicestershire from 1850 -1856. It was probably commissioned to celebrate his position as Provincial Grand Master, showing him in full regalia with gavel in right hand. He has aged since his earlier portrait which can be seen on an earlier blog post here which is dated to c.1820. Despite the obvious age difference, both portraits show similar characteristics of the 1st Baronet; the nose and mouth in particular are very similar, and the subject exudes confidence and has an overwhelming air of authority, something that is quite fitting for a member of the British aristocracy in the mid-Victorian era.
Certain male members of the Fowke family became prominent Freemasons in the Leicestershire Province, and it was the 3rd Baronet Fowke that married into the Rawdon family - a family I am researching for a book on Liverpool merchant and philanthropist Christopher Rawdon.
