(1663 - 1735)
Thomas Murray was of Scottish origin but was based in London. He was a pupil of one of the De Critz family and later of John Riley. When Riley died in 1691 he took over the practice. He painted full-length portraits of Queen Anne (1703) for the Society of the Middle Temple and army officer and politician John Murray [no relation], first Duke of Atholl (1705; Blair Castle). His self-portrait is in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. He was living at Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, at the time of his death and died a childless widower, aged c.72. His fortune of £40,000 (said to have come from moneylending and investments as much as painting) passed to his nephew. However, his request that a monument be erected in Westminster Abbey was never honoured.
