Illustration taken from "At Home" illustrated by J G Sowerby and decorated by Thomas Crane. Printed and published by Marcus Ward & Co of London and Belfast.
Thomas Crane was born at Chester in 1808. Showing early a taste for art, in 1824 he came up to London, where he joined the schools of the Academy, and remained two years, obtaining, in 1825, the medal for his drawings from the antique. Returning to Chester, he commenced his profession as a miniature painter, and not very long after, he published, in conjunction with a brother, some sketches of celebrated characters in North Wales, among whom were Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby, the eccentric "Ladies of Llangollen." In 1832 he made his first appearance as an exhibitor at the Liverpool Academy, and continued to contribute to that Institution for many years. In 1835 he was elected an Associate, and in 1838 a full member of that Academy. But the delicate state of his health would not permit of his remaining in that town, and he removed to Torquay, where he resided twelve years, occasionally visiting the scene of his earlier connections in the North, where he procured lucrative commissions. He died in London in 1859.
Crane was most successful in portraits of females and children, both in oil and water-colours; his treatment of such subjects being so elegant and so full of fancy as almost to make them ideal works, yet without compromising their likeness. He also painted figure subjects, as: 'The First Whisper of Love,' 'The Deserted Village,' 'The Cobbler,' 'The Old Romance,' 'The Bay Window,' and ' Masquerading,' most of which were exhibited at the Royal Academy. ( Wikipedia )
