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Artist or Maker: The Hon. John Collier (1850-1934)

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Notes: Henry Richard Tomkinson (d. 1906) was a manager of the Sun Fire office from April 1860 to June 1900 and Managing Director from March 1864 to April 1878.

Tomkinson's monetary skills were honed during his tenure as bursar at Marlborough College, where he worked after Cambridge. In 1880 a piece published in The Insurance World, otherwise critical of the Sun Fire Office, acknowledges Tomkinson's 'considerable administrative ability'. His obtiuary paid tribute to 'a man of great abilities and of a singular simplicity and charm, which endeared im to all with whom he came in contact'. Perhaps his unpretentious manner contributed to the apprehension which he records in the margin of some Board minutes, anticipating a portrait sitting.

We are grateful to Esther Mann at the Royal Sun Alliance archive for her help in preparing this catalogue entry.

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