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Artwork of the Month - June 2012
Portrait of Thomas Guille, co-founder of the Guille-Allès Library
Artist: Attributed to Frank Brooks (1854-1937)
Medium: Oil on canvas
Status: Permanent collection
Item No.: GMAG 1993.317
About the Sitter
Thomas Guille (1818-1897) left Guernsey in 1832 when only fourteen years of age. He went to New York where he worked as apprentice to Daniel Mauger, a carpenter and builder. There he stayed and made his fortune.
Guille's experience of using the apprentices' library in New York made him determined to provide something similar for Guernsey. On returning to the Island in 1882 he and his business partner Frederick Allès purchased the Assembly Rooms in Market Street. The original building was extended and in November 1888 the Guille-Allès Library was opened, together with lecture rooms, an art gallery and a museum.
