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Robert Clayton was President of St Thomas's Hospital from 1692 until his death in 1707. During his time, he oversaw the employment of Thomas Cartwright to rebuild the hospital and led the campaign to raise the funds. He donated significantly himself to this rebuild project and subsequently endowed it with a bequest in his will to the Hospital of £2,000 (approximately equivalent to £4.4 million today). Robert Clayton was a merchant and politician. He was born in Northamptonshire and began his career as a scrivener. He went on to become a highly successful businessman and established the bank Clayton and Morris Co with his colleague Alderman John Morris. He was knighted in 1671 and held many positions including the Director of the Bank of England 1702–1709.
Clayton had direct and indirect connections to the slave trade, the plantations business, and English colonialism. His involvement began when he married Martha Trott (c.1642–1705), daughter of a merchant and tobacco trader in 1659. Martha’s family were the largest landowners in Bermuda at the time and through the marriage, Clayton received a 75-acre plantation. Clayton also served on the equivalent of the board of directors of Royal African Company for 9 years. He made investments and received yearly dividends. The Royal African Company, a major slaving institution, trafficked an estimated 44,105 enslaved African women, men, and children to the Americas during the time when Clayton was involved with the company.
He is depicted wearing his Lord Mayor robes. There is another version of this painting at Guildhall Art Gallery and a mezzotint print after this composition by John Smith (1652–1743), 1707.
St Thomas' Hospital, Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation
London
Title
Sir Robert Clayton (1629–1707)
Date
about 1679
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 124.5 x W 98 cm
Accession number
S2000.143
Acquisition method
purchased from Christie's, 1950; from the collection of Lady A. G. Clayton
Work type
Painting
St Thomas' Hospital, Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation
Westminster Bridge Road, London, Greater London SE1 7EH England
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