Thomas Flintoff

A Texan artist active in the mid-1800s, Thomas Flintoff painted portraits that put faces to the state’s key figures and families. His oils include *Portrait of the Jones Children of Galveston*, showing three kids on a porch, and *Sam Houston*, dated January 1, 1851. Both works land in the straight-ahead portrait tradition of the era—no dramatic flourishes, just clear likenesses. Look for the way Flintoff lights the sitter’s coat buttons in *Sam Houston* and how the Jones children hold their poses against a plain wall. Tap the portrait of Houston to see the firm jaw and calm gaze he captured.