Richard Sainthill (1787-1870) was a distinguished Irish antiquarian and numismatist and Maclise's most important early patron. Sainthill probably first met him in 1821 when Maclise returned to Cork from London. Sainthill saw a drawing by the sixteen-year-old artist in the shop of McLise Senior and encouraged him to take lessons, commissioned portraits of his family and gave him the use of a room in his own house for a studio. But his influence on Maclise was even deeper; as Richard Ormond wrote: in a real sense he completed his education and gave him an abiding interest in Irish archeology, history and folklore.(1) These shared interests are apparent in the present drawing. Maclise wrote with affection of Sainthill, his antiquarian knowledge and various literary attainments eminently qualified him for inspiring a youth with a true regard and attachment even where both did not already exist - his (ie Maclise's) attention was now directed to medalling, heraldry and the like congenial tastes.(2) The 1820's and 1830's saw a flowering of interest in antiquarianism and genealogy throughout Europe. Maclise's image is a visible token of the new interest in the past, as Sainthill reveals his ancestry by posing in front of the tomb of `Reginaldus de Swenthall' who died in 1320 and by the tablet to `Elizabeth, daughter of Rd Sainthill' who died in 1791. It also projects a Romantic atmosphere with its shadowed woodlands, ivy-grown urn and interest in the relics of death. Another drawing by Maclise of Sainthill (1830), as lithographed by R. J. Lane in 1852 was included in the 1970 National Portrait Gallery exhibition.(3) The artist abandoned McLise as a spelling of his surname in 1835. 1. National Portrait Gallery, London, 1970, Daniel Maclise 1806-1870, (catalogue of the exhibition by Richard Ormond), number 7 2. From Maclise's manuscript autobiography, the Library, Royal Academy of Arts, London, pages 21 - 22 3. Ibid., number 7