Sir Thomas Andrew Strange (1756–1841)

Sir Thomas Andrew Strange, Chief Justice first of Madras and subsequently of Nova Scotia, appears in this 1829 portrait at Christ Church Oxford, his alma mater. Strange's unusual career trajectory — from Oxford law to the colonial judiciary in India and then Canada — was typical of the pathways by which well-connected Oxford graduates participated in building and administering the British Empire. His portrait at Christ Church preserves his connection to his educational origins while the subjects of his judicial career were distributed across three continents. Shee's portrait captures Strange in old age, the Chief Justice returning institutional recognition to the college that had launched his career, following the convention of commissioning portraits for one's old college upon reaching distinction.

The judicial portrait follows standard conventions, with Strange shown in appropriate formal attire. The palette is dominated by dark tones relieved by the white of legal bands or collar and warm flesh tones. Shee"s rendering of the aging jurist shows the careful attention to character that sustains his better portraits, the face suggesting experience and legal authority through subtle modeling of features.