Thomas Warrender

Thomas Warrender (26 January 1662 –fl.1713) was a Scottish artist best known for a trompe-l'œil Still Life of a letter rack, probably painted around 1708, which is now in the collection of the Scottish National Gallery.

Life The son of John Warrender and Agnes Heamonie, Thomas Warrender was born in Haddington on 26 January 1662. He was active in Edinburgh, seemingly participating in the political debates of the time as well as painting. Dror Wahrman considers it a copy of Collier, and suggests the date of the work - 1708 at the earliest based on dated printed material shown in the picture - means it was painted after Collier's last known work. The work seems to allude to contemporary political issues, such as the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England, symbolised by overlapping playing cards, and refers disparagingly to Roman Catholicism, by reference to the National Covenant and the dangers of popery.

John Walter sees the work as demonstrating changes in British society from the late seventeenth century, with the increasing availability of printed material leading to growing debate in print.