\ .•"**a m~ ' **.■ \W \ >lfl £, i • *a 4b ■&** %>*- & *i ■I L'' *<**-- \ # .3. 4 : ^ & ^ **» V /T** ./ *» «■>"* T ^ V . ■-■ ^-•- v..- ::- Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/anecdotesofpaintOOedwa [/■'■/""•" i an/on '< lihtsil E . ED'-vakivs, // v v ///// • akt • • VtZtiu '/r/- /'///// y// / V ' ' ( — - > ) Published for the froprictoi ./> t/t,- ./>/,///,, /< _■,- AprilaScS ANECDOTES of PAINTERS WHO HAVE RESIDED OR BEEN BORN IN ENGLAND; WITH CRITICAL REMARKS ON THEIR PRODUCTIONS ; BY EDWARD EDWARDS, b£cea?"eb, LATE TEACHER OF PERSPECTIVE, AND ASSOCIATE, IN THE ROYAL ACADEMY; INTENDED AS A CONTINUATION TO THE ANECDOTES of PAINTING BY THE LATE HORACE EARL OF ORFORD. Ronton ; Printed by Luke Hanfard & Sons, TOR LEIGH AND SOTHF.BY, W. J. AND J. RICHARDSON, R. FAULDER, T. PAYNE, AND J. WHITE. l8o: T^U^rr^ /tfjj ^N w^W.S^TN AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE of Mr. EDWARDS. EDWARD ED WARDS was born March 7 th, 1738, in Caftle- itreet, Leicefter-fields. His father was a chair maker and carver, and a native of Shrewsbury, but fettled in London, where he married, and had two fons and a daughter. Of thefe children Edward Edwards was the eldeft. He was naturally a very weakly child, which was exprefled, while he was an infant, in his form, it gradually becoming distorted. To this, it was alfo believed an accident contributed. At an early age he was fent to a Proteflant School, eftablimed for the education of the children of French refugees : here he learnt the French language, and acquired it fufficiently to be able to fpeak it tolerably well. When he was fifteen years old, he was taken from fchool, and began to work with his father at the mop of Mr. Hallet, an upholfterer at the corner of Great St. Martin's Lane, Long Acre, where he continued till he was eighteen years of age. While he was in this fituation, he indicated an inclination to drawing, and drew patterns for furniture. His father's intention was to make him a carver and gilder; but he foon had wiihes beyond that employ, and fought every opportunity of looking at works of art ; but happening to be thus occupied, he was b harfhly ( ii ) harfhly treated by one of the partners, which caufed his father to remove him, and to leave him at liberty to exert himfelf in acquiring more fcientifically the rudiments of art. For this purpofe, he took leffons at a drawing fchool ; and in 1759 he was deemed qualified to be admitted a ftudent at the Duke of Richmond's gallery, which contained excellent calls of many of the fineft antique ftatues. In 1760, he fuftained a great lofs in the death of his father, who was a very ingenious man, but of a referred and fhy difpofition, which prevented him from profiting, as he might otherwife have done, by his ingenuity. He left his widow and children wholly unprovided- with means for a maintenance, ex- cept what they might be able to procure by their indufiry. Edward Edwards was now but twenty-two years of age, and with but a (lender foundation in his art, he had to fupport his mother and a brother and filler, He had lodgings in Compton- ftreet, Soho, and with other efforts to obtain the means of living, he opened an evening fchool, (at his lodgings) and taught draw- ing to feveral young men who either aimed to be artifts, or to qualify themfelves to be cabinet or ornamental furniture makers. But under all his difficulties, he fteadily perfevered in his en- deavour to acquire power in the art to which he had devoted his mind, and in 1761 he was admitted a member of the academy in Peter Court. St. Martin's Lane. Here he had the advantage of ftudying the human figure with the principal artifts of that period, and made fuch progrefs as to be encouraged to offer a drawing for a premium propofed by the Society eftablilhed for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce ; and fucceeded. In ( iii ) In 1763, his profpe<5l of employment became more promifing. Mr. Boydell having undertaken to publifh a fet of engravings from celebrated pictures by old mailers, engaged Ed'/ards to make drawings, from which engravers were to be employed to work. In 1764, he obtained a premium from the Society of Arts, &c. for the bell hillorical picture in chiaro ofcuro. He now became an exhibiter with the Incorporated Society of Artills, and was admitted a member of that body ; but was foon difgulled with the factious proceedings which prevailed in it, and which caufed a confiderable number of the principal artills to withdraw them- felves from it. But as feveral of his moll intimate friends Hill remained in it, he was induced to continue fome time longer a member and an exhibiter. In 1770, he was employed by thePrefident and Council of the Society of Antiquaries, to make a large drawing * from an old picture in the Callle at Windfor, reprefenting the interview between Henry VIII. and Francis I. at Calais. Upon this he was engaged more than fix months. His work was approved, but he was not rewarded with a fpirit of liberality; indeed, it may be faid he was treated unjullly. He received only one hundred and ten guineas for his time and trouble ; a very inadequate recompence. But whatever might be his difappointment, he was not of a difpofition to defpond, and although he had Hill a mother and filler to fupport, his fortitude under all circumftances of difficulty remained unfhaken. It was his happinefs to look * The fize of the drawing was 3 feet 11 inches, by 1 foot n| inches. b 2 forward ( iv ) forward with hope and with confidence to a period when his exertions would have their reward in fame and fuccefs; and this temper*of mind rendered his fpirits cheerful, and his application to his profeffional ftudies pleafant. His great object was to be an hiftorical painter; but the neceffities of his fituation obliged him to accept offers of employment of various kinds. He made drawings, painted landfcapes and portraits in large or in miniature; and occafionally made defigns, and began pictures on hiftorical or poetical fubjects. Thus proceeding, he obtained a moderate income, which he managed with frugality. In 1 77 1, he exhibited with the Royal Academy, in which, for the advantage of academical ftudy, he had been fome time a Student. His good character and general ingenuity made a d*ie impreffion on the minds of the Academicians, and in 1773 he was elected an Affociate of the Royal Academy. Soon after he was employed by Lord Befborough, at Roehampton, to repair a ceiling painted by Sir James Thornhill ; and by Mr. Bell, the bookfeller, to make defigns and drawings for feveral publications. He had alfo the good fortune to be employed by Robert Udney, efq. in whom he found a warm friend. Mr. Udney being apprifed of his defire to feek improvement abroad, offered him pecuniary afiiftance to enable him to accomplish his wiihes ; and in confequence he made arrangements for that purpofe, and in July 1775 he left London, and proceeded to France on his way to Italy. He was abfent from England till September 1776, when he returned to London. His chief refidence, while he was abroad, was at Rome, but he vifited moil of the other principal cities in Italy; and varied hid route on his way back by paffing through Turin, ( v ) Turin, and over the alps to Lyons. Thus, though his tour was made in little more than thirteen months, he faw what was moft remarkable both in nature and art in that celebrated country. On his arrival inLondon, he again eftablifhed himfelf in his pro- feffion. He had feen much, and his opinions, which were given with undeviating integrity, were always refpe6ted ; but his pro- ductions could not excitemuch approbation. There have been few infiances where an artift, with fo much general capacity and vigour of mind, has not been enabled to make greater proficiency. After thefe obfervations, it will not be neceflary to relate many particulars of his profeffional practice, which, as before he went to Italy, was various, and did not produce to him more than was fufficient to fupport himfelf and his aged mother and lifter. His admirable conduct as a fon and a brother caufed him to be regarded with particular efteem, and he was diftinguiihed in fociety for the uprightnefs of his proceedings and the reclitude of his heart. Mr. Udney continued to be the friend of Edwards, and gave him employment; and he had commiffions to execute for Sir Edward Walpole. In 1781, he obtained a premium from the Society of Arts, &c. for a Landfcape Painting. The fame year he prefented to the Royal Society his paper on the Storm at Roehampton, accompanied by drawings made by himfelf of the fingular and extraordinary effects of it. In June 1782, he went to Bath, where he was employed to paint three arabefque ceilings, in the houfe of the honourable Charles Hamilton. This was one of the greateft commiflions he ever received, and occupied him till March 1783. Here his timepaffed very agreeably, owing to the politenefs and liberality of Mr. Hamilton. He ( vi ) He was foon after engaged by the honourable Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill, and continued to receive commiflions from him till 1784, when their intercourfe ceafed. This was oc- cafioned by what Mr. Walpole confidered to be an overcharge for a cabinet made by a perfon recommended by Edwards. In expreffing his fentiments on the matter in difpute, Mr. Walpole ihevved much petulance, and fo far reflected upon Edwards, as to caufe him to reply with much indignation. In 1786, he painted a picture of a Hunting Party for Mr. Eftcourt, in which the Duke of Beaufort, his two fons, and many other perfons, were introduced. And in the following year, he was employed to paint fcenes at Newcaftle-upon-Tyne, for a theatre in that town. In 1788, he was appointed Teacher of Perfpe&ive in the Royal Academy, and was continued in that fituation during the remainder of his life. For this office he had qualified himlelf by long ftudy, the fruits of which were given to the public in a Treatife on Perfpe&ive. In 1 792, he finifhed a collection of etchings of various fubjeds. The plates of this work, fifty-two in number, were fold by Leigh and Sotheby in 1799. He exhibited in 1793, a picture which had occupied much of his time. It represented the Commemoration of Handel in Weftminfter Abbey, in which he introduced a multitude of figures, many of them ^portraits. In 1799, his old friend Mr. Boy dell, being defirous to include his name with thofe of the artifts employed for the Shakefpeare work, engaged him to paint a picture for the play of the Two Gentlemen of Verona. To ( vii ) To enumerate further would be only an account of various fmall commiflions, and the period had now arrived when he could hope for no more than to procure a maintenance. In 1800 he loft his mother, at the advanced age of 93. His filter con- tinued to refide with him ; and his prudence, aided by her economy and good management, enabled him to preferve a refpeftable appearance with a very fmall income, which was gradually becoming lefs. Still his fpirits were uniformly cheer- ful, and in fociety he was to the lad lively and agreeable. His conduct had been virtuous and irreproachable, and had left him nothing to reflect upon that could embitter the hours of his declining life. His religious fentiments were pure, and his morality was perfect. He had failed in nothing but in his endeavour to acquire greater power in the art to which he had devoted himfelf, and in this all that depended upon himfelf had been done. His amufements were innocent and entertaining. He fometimes in a pleafant vein, wrote verfes to his friends; but his hours of leifure were for the moil part occupied in praclifing on the violin, and he made fuch progrefs as to be able to join in a quartetto with fkilful performers. He was latterly chiefly employed in fuperintending the printing of this work, for which he had been collecting materials during the greater part of his life: much of it was printed before his death, and the copy for the remainder was completed. The reader will judge from what has been dated, how well he was qualified for fuch an under- taking. He was indefatigable in acquiring information, was accurate in the greateft degree, had affociated with moft of the principal artifts of his time, and had been in the profeffton near fifty years. About riii About a year before his death, his 1 ticed a ch- in h> tution. Si I that he had become weaker, - there was no other ap; .ay, and it was v week- e he died that he fullered anv cou- nt. The which occafioned in him apprehenfion of danger. He his Gam- ut was of a rheumatic nature., and that he ihould foon recover. On the morning of the day on which he died, Dc 1806, he wrote to a friend a queriion re- -.".;■ ... his £ g v. In the even: ras feat- ed by the fire converting, when he fuddenly rofe, and del to be fupported to a bed in the nex: ch, in a few minutes, he expired. Upon the examination of the furgeons, nothing extraordinary appeared, except about mree or four ounces of water in the pericardium. He - ided to his erave in St. Pancras church-yard by B. Weft, Elq. 1 fthe Royal Academy; J. Fa and J. Nc Elq. Academ Sir William Blizard, Mr. B.-.ker, Mr. Edridge, Mr. Hearne, Mr. Milbourne, jun. and Mr. Sotheby, jun. ; who, with much regret, faw depofited the remains of much refpected friend, and of a truly good man. JZZiitjLe '/fa f/74.4 1/ Itr/tiS ds/..L /ivi/p,i~i l - PREFACE. THAT lively and plealant writer, the late Honourable Horace Walpole, * to whom the public is obliged for a molt enter- taining and ufeful work, the Anecdotes of Painting, did not publifh his laft volume until the year l 7 SO, though, as he acknow- ledges, it was written ten years before ; confequently there was a Iapfe of twenty years between the accefiion of his prefent Majeity to the throne, and the period when that honourable biographer terminated his work. From * Horace Walpole was third and youngefl fori to Sir Robert Walpole, K. G- many years prime minuter to George the Firlt and Second. His mother, who was Sir Robert's rirlt lady, was daughter to John Shorter, Eiq; of Bybrook in Kent : lhe died 1737. Horace, or Horatio, for his name is fometimes written in the former, and fome- times in the latter manner, received his education at Eton ; from thence was removed to Cambridge ; and afterwards vilited Italy, in company with Mr. Gray the poet. lie fat in feveral parliaments, as reprefentative for Cattle Rifing, and laftly. for Kind's I, vim. Norfolk. But the buftle of political concerns was little fuited to his temper and habits. lor which reafon he formally refigned, by public advertilement, all further connexion with his conftituents, and withdrew to retirement about the year 1766. He had previously purchafed a fmall but plealant manlion at the weftern extremity of Twickenham, diftinguifhed in the old pariih books by the title of Strawberry Hill. b 11 PREFACE. From that time to the prefent no regular or fyltematic memo- rials of the arts or artilts have appeared, though lome notices have been occalionallv inierted in the obituary lifts of the different Magazines. This circumftarice is the more extraordinary, as in that lpaee of time the arts have made more rapid advances towards per- fection in Great Britain, than ever was known in any other country during fo fhort a (pace of time. This aliertion will uot appear urained, when we coniider the low ltate to which they were reduced at the acceflion of George the ti:lt, when, as the honourable author oblerves, u the arts '• were funk to the lowt.lt itate in Britain.'' This place he greatly embellilhed, and, before his death, formed it into a beautiful and romantic villa, if a Gothic edifice can claim that - Here he built a pri _ :.ce, and conftainly retained a printer in his fervice ; - Mr. [Thomas Kirgate, who lived with him near thirty years, and with him at his death. At this prefs molt of the honourable author's works were printed, as all as trorn the pens of his friends, all of which obtained wherry Hill editions, by which they are well known to the curious collectors of literature. a his youth he w afflicled with the gout, yet he farmed to great ase. He was born in 1716, and died March -2d. 1707. As he outlived both his elder brothers, and alio his nephew, all of whom died witl -■ the title of Earl of Orford defcended to him as the but male heir of his father, v. ho was created Earl of Orford, by George the Sec rid. Feb. p. 17 and which he inherited by is nephew G died in 1701. But Mr. Wlpole was too ced in life, and too infirm in his health, to allow him to engage in thofe concerns which were consequent to rank: th never tooak his feat in the Houfe of Peers; and as he died unmar- ried, the title became tx;::.c :: though it has lately been revived in his firft coufin, Lord V '■' in V . in the early part of the year 1S06 took '.. fe of Peers as Earl of Orford. Trom •R.GE VERT UE , Engraver, Mint .L. .Aim . MT> C CXXXVIH . PREFACE. iii From this degraded ftate they began to revive about the middle of the iucceeding reign; and before ti. acquired a desree of vigour and . . _:h which has been greatly cultivated and nearly matured under the auipicious encouragement of his prefent Majei'ty. One of the fir ft perfons who contributed to elevate the art* from their deprelied Situation was Mr. George Vertue, whole affection for engraving was accompanied by an almoft equal attachment to the l'tudy of antiquities : in confequence of which, he collected all the anecdotes he could obtain relative to the arts, and their profeiibrs who were or had been anv wavs connected with this country, from the earlieft period to his own time. But while he was collecting, he had no opportunity of arrang- ing the anecdotes of which he was pou'eiied. and they were left in a very imperfect and indigefted ftate at his death, which happened in 17-56. Thefe papers were purchafed of Mr. Vertue's widow by the Honourable Mr. Walpole, who was certainly the fitteit perfon to poll el's them, being the belt qualified to arrange and polilh the rough materials which Mr. Vertue had collected : At the fame time he was bv no means adapted in his own perfon to have acquired the original information, owing to a certain degree of fai'tidioufnefs in his manners, united with fomething of the confequence of rank, which difqualified him from making thole familiar inquiries that would have been neceiiary for the attain- ment of the requifite knowledge. b 2 Though iv F REFACE. Though it cannot be doubted that the honourable editor im- proved the original (ketches of Mr. Vertue, yet it may be fafely affirmed: that the former did not add to the lift of artifis which the latter had collected; and thofe artifis which were inferted in the fourth volume of the octavo edition of his Anecdotes are but very flightly noticed. But this deficiency may be very eaiily accounted for, by obferving that the honourable author's age and infirmities did not then allow him to purfue thofe inquiries which were necef- fary to the farther improvement of the work. It may therefore be fafely afferted, that thofe anecdotes were doled in the year l 7 fio, for all the artifts, who are noticed after that period, flourifhed long before, which was particularly the cafe with Hogarth, as alio with fome others who are mentioned after him, but with little more diftinction, than by the dates of their deaths. As a continuation of that work, the following fhcets are offered ; and the Author begs to obferve, that the information he has attempted to communicate is collected from the moft unqueftionable authorities, and in very many inftances is ac- quired through the perfonal acquaintance and friendfhip he has enjoyed with feveral of the principal perfons, uhofe abilities as artifts, and whole characters as men, he has endeavoured to appreciate, in a manner, he trufts, which is equally free from partial praife or malevolent cenfure. In addition to the anecdotes of the lives of the artifts them- felves, it has been thought neceffary to fubjoin, by way of in- troduction, fome account of the encouragement and afiiftahce which the arts received, by the eftablifhment of feveral infti tut ions which PREFACE. ▼ which were formed before the acceffion of his prefent Majefty to the throne. Thefe events, fo intimately connected with the hiftory of the polite arts in this country, could not be paflfed over in filence, efpecially as feveral of the artilts, who are mentioned in the fol- lowing pages, were fo much engaged with thofe inftitutions, that many occurrences, noticed in their memoirs, would be unintelli- gible to future readers, without fome preparatory information upon thofe fubje£ts. In the arrangement of the following anecdotes, the chronologi- cal order is preferved agreeably to the dates of the deaths of the arlifts whole names are introduced, except in two or three in- stances, in which the parties retired from their profeffion fo long before the clofe of their lives, that they certainly may be placed as they now ftand with great propriety. It is alfo neceflary to obferve, that in this volume, which is intended as the firft, the Author has confined himfelf to the lift of Painters only ; leaving the other artilts, fuch as Architects, Sculptors, &c. to be included in a fecond volume. It is needlefs to defcribe all the divifions of the work. It will be fufficient to remark, that by their introduction, the Author has endeavoured to render his volume as uieful as he could to thofe claffes of readers for whom it is chiefly intended ; namely, the artift, the connoiiTeur, and the gentleman. This preface, however, cannot be clofed without offering fome apology for what may be thought a deficiency in the work; namely, the want of portraits of the artifts whofe memoirs are given ; efpecially vi PREFACE. efpecially as Mr. "Walpole has beftowed a confiderable number throughout his Anecdotes. But fuch decorations would have fub- je&ed the Author to an expence beyond his finances, and would alfo have rendered the volume too coftly for the generality of thofe to whom the work might be ufeful. [ vii ] INTRODUCTION THE Polite Arts were fo little cultivated by the Natives of England until the middle of the laft century, that foreigners, and even many of our own countrvmen, imagined that fome na- tural caules prevented the Engliih from becoming mafters either in Painting or Sculpture. But happily lince that period, the molt undoubted proofs have been produced, that no defects in the climate of Britain, or in the conftitutions of it's inhabitants, can prevent them from equalling tl^eir European neighbours in the productions of art. To trace the caules which obftructed their advancement in this countrv, belongs rather to the regular hiltorian, than to the biographical collector, and the Author will not, therefore, attempt to develope them, efpecially as that talk has already been ably performed bv manv preceding writers *, who have taken upon themfelves to defend, in this reipect, the honour of their country. But as the arts have now attained a manifeit iuperiority in this country, it will not be improper to trace the fteps by which they * See an Inquiry into the real and imaginary Obftrudiorjs to the Acquisition of the Arts in England, by James Barry. R.A. &c. 1 77 - : ay on De.'.n, Ac. by Jcbn Gv.yn, R.A. octavo, publilhed by BrimDey in Bpnd-ftreet, 1749. have riii INTRODUCTION. have rifen to their prefent elevation, fince the period at which Mr. Walpole (afterwards Earl of Orford) commences the fourth volume of his Anecdotes. The honourable author obferves, that at the commencement of the reign of George, the Firft, " the Arts were funk to the loweft ebb in Britain;'' to which it may be added, that they made but How and weak advances in their improvements until the middle of the fucceeding reign. Not that the arts were at this period un- employed, for the painting of ceilings and ftaircafes was much in vogue : fometimes the pannels of the room, but more frequently the compartments over the chimney and doors, were rilled with fome kind of picture, which was feldom the original work of any mafter, but commonly the production of fome practical copyift*, who lubfiited by manufacturing fuch decorative pieces, and was glad to furnifh a landfcape on a half length canvafs for forty or fifty millings. This faihion continued about half a century, but had greatly declined at the period when the Exhibitions were firft eftablifhed ; fince which there has been a total change in the ftyle of interior domeftic decorations. While painting was thus making flow advances, or rather ftruggling for exiftence, the arts of drawing and engraving were but feebly maintained by the ac- cidental demand of print fellers and bookiellers, who began, about the early part of the laft century, to decorate their publications in a ftyle of elegance fuperior to what had before been attempted in this country. * Among the artif;s, whofe works were moft confidered in this line of decoration, were Vogelfang, Yandieft, Cooper, (,'radoc, &c. See their names in Walpole. But Yawiztes i* . LeT'jj'Ejk I y TR.OBUCTIOX felt at that time than the j the u n whhed to je knowledge in me rut A deign: lor all that id be then obtained mt : imported wo - foreign or cc Enq manv of which we _ snd dra old Italian and Flemilh matters. N : r can the books upon architecture, which were then publiraed, be conndered . aal works ; the belt were re compilations, or ablblute c )m indifferent French works. As the arts were defective, fo ^ere alio thole w. . that depend npon delign for 2d enr: 1 ■ me: . er, which both Mr. 1 Jot. d» hare from the accetnon c: ;e the Fin: to the mide'v :: :..; foe :-.: ::ng . founded. After the peace of Aix-la-C e nation appeared to be routed to a on and improvement in the a. had not been known ii E 2 and before that period : and feveral inratutions or foci : formed, whole avowed intentions were to encourage the talen:- utrvmen. : the Antig in and Dilett Societies; I .he Society for the Encourage:: : Arte, Man'-: iad ( ::merce. .or rather Soc:; - ;3nlilted of leveral perfoas formed a reiolution _ I :hh produ:: to thole im- poned from Franc-. :.. _ - ! common at that time : _ :. :. x INTRODUCTION. than for the artificers and tradefmen to recommend themfelves, or the wares in which they dealt, as Parifian ; and though it muft be confefled that thefe focieties did not direct their attention to the arts in particular, yet their patriotic example greatly ftimu- lated their countrymen to exert their talents in thofe productions which were before almoft unknown in Great Britain. Of the Dilettanti Society, the Author is not fufficiently in- formed to give a perfect account, and therefore can only relate the following circumftances. Its original inftitution was prior to either of thofe already mentioned. It commenced upon political principles, and, as far as it was then known to the public, was not approved, being confidered as rather a difaffected afferribly. But they foon changed the object of their meetings, and turned their attention to the encouragement of the arts, and made fome attempts to affift in the eftablifhment of a public academy ; for which purpofe they deputed General Grey, one of their members, to attend the meeting, held by the artifts for that purpofe ; but this was not productive of the propofed advantage, for the confulting parties could not agree refpecting the government of the intended inftitution. Although this fociety has been little known to the public under its prefent title, yet its filent exertions have been of great importance to the arts ; efpecially as thofe who are admitted members are perfons of the moft diftinguifhed reputation for tafte. As, by the rules of the fociety, they are enabled to accumulate a fund, they have at various times employed the furplus of their fubfcripttons in the promotion of the arts; and in the year 1775 they INTRODUCTION. xi they fent a ftudent to Rome, upon their penfion, to complete his ftudies in painting. They have alio at different times (upported ibme very elegant and claffical publications of the Antiquities of Greece ; and they affifted the editors of the works of the late Mr. James Stuart, in completing the Antiquities of Athens, which, by his death, were left unfinifhed. As the lbciety is rather of a private nature, it is not neceflary, nor would it be proper, to attempt a farther account of the infti- tutes. It is fufficient to fay, that if they mould, at fome future period, think proper to publifh any account of their proceedings, the public will find, that the Dilettanti Society ranks among the moft refpeclable in Britain, and may be confidered as a fteady, though unoftentatious, encourager of the arts. But the moft effectual affiftance which the arts have received in this country, has been from the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. This noble inftitution, which was founded by the liberality of a very fmall number of noblemen and gentlemen in the year 1754, has fully anfwered the wifhes of its firft founders.. The original purpofes for which it was formed will be clearly explained by the following extracts, which the Author has been liberally permitted to tranfcribe from the firft minutes of the tranfaclions of the fociety. " Rawthmell's Coffee-houfe, Henrietta-flxeet, " Covent Garden, March 12, 1754. "AT a Meeting of fome Noblemen, Clergy, Gentlemen, il and Merchants, in order to form a Society for the En- c 2 " coura2;ement Xll INTRODUCTION. couragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, in- Great Britain: " It was propofed to confider, whether a reward mould not be given for the finding of cobalt in this kingdom, as there is reafon to believe it may be difcovered here, if diligently fought after. And as arfenic, ftnalt, and zaffir, are prepared from cobalt, and all we ufe of thefe is imported from foreign parts, Mr. Shipley, who acted as Secretary, was directed to fearch the books of entries at the Cuftom Houfe, to learn what quan- tities of each are annually imported, and to make his report at the next meeting. " It was alfo propofed to confider, whether a reward fhould be given for the cultivation of madder in this kingdom. In confequence whereof, the Secretary was defired to in- quire, what quantities of madder are annually imported ; and the Gentlemen prefent were likewiie defired to inform them- felves, wherefore the cultivation thereof has been neglected in this kingdom, and whether it is a great impoveriflier of land. " It was likewife propofed to confider of giving rewards for the encouragement of boys and girls in the art of drawing. And it being the opinion of all prefent, that the art of drawing is absolutely necefTary in many employments, trades, and manu- factures, and that the encouragement thereof may prove of great utility to the public; it was refolved to beftow premiums on a certain number of boys or girls, under the age of fixteen, who fhall produce the beft pieces of drawing, and mew them- felves moft capable when properly examined. " The farther confideration of thefe propofals was referred to 4 the INTRODUCTION. xm "the next meeting; and alter directing that a book of rates " mould be bought for the ufe of the fociety, the company " adjourned to Friday next, March 29. PRESENT: " Lord Viscount Folkstone, " Lord Romney, " Dr. Hales, " Mr. Goodciiild, " Mr. Lawrence, " Mr. Messiter, " Mr. Shipley, " Mr. Crisp, " Mr. Baker, " Mr. Brander." Their next meeting was in the week following, and the minutes of their tranfactions is dated March 29, 1/54, from which the following is an extract : " The giving rewards for the belt drawings by boys and girls " was taken into confideration, and an advertilement was ordered " to be worded in the manner following : " For the belt drawings by boys and girls under the age of 14 " years, and proof of their abilities on the 1 5th day of Jan. 1 755,. " £. 15. to be determined that day fortnight. " Likewile for the belt drawings by boys and girls between the " age of 14 and I 7, with like proof of their abilities, on the fame " day, £. 15. to be determined that day fortnight." Although this fociety did not wholly confine their encourage- ment to the promotion of the arts, as may be perceived by the foregoing minutes, yet they contributed in the moft liberal and effectual xir INTRODUCTION. effectual manner to ftimulate the exertions of the juvenile artifts ; for which purpofe they annually offered very handfome premiums as rewards to thole youths, under a limited age, who fhould produce the heft drawings from different fubjecls, agreeably to the conditions which they publicly advertifed. Nor did they long -confine their attention to the youthful candidate only, but foon extended their patronage to the mature arlilt of confirmed abilities and eftablifhed reputation, and offered premiums for hiftorical painting, fculpture, and original deligns in architecture ; in which departments of the arts, the age of the candidate was not limited. Thefe patriotic and liberal endeavours to promote the improve- ment of the arts, were continued by the fociety for above twenty years, during which period they expended the fum of £.7,026. 5s. together with 10 medals of gold, 6 of filver, 17 pallets of gold, and 84, great and fmall, of filver ; all of which were beftowed as rewards, in the departments of painting, fculpture, and archi- tecture. Under the aufpices of this inftitution, the advancement of the arts was rapid and fuccefsful, particularly among the rifing generation of that age. Nor did the fociety in the leaft diminim their attention to this their favourite fubjecl, until His Majefty, by founding the Royal Academy, rendered their exertions, in favour of the polite arts, lets necetlary ; they then prudently directed their attention to the encouragement of agriculture, chemiftry, dying, and fuch other various branches of art and fcience as might receive improvement under their patronage and affiftance. It INTRODUCTION. xv It fhould be obferved, that this lbciety owed much of its origin to the fpirited exertions of Mr. Wm. Shipley,* brother of Dr. Jonathan Shipley, late Bifhop of StAfaph. That gentleman, who had been educated in art, eitablilhed a drawing fchool, upon a more enlarged plan than had before been attempted in this country. This fchool foon role into reputation, and many young men were fent thither from diftant parts of the kingdom; and as thefe youths were inftructed in a manner well adapted to the cultivation of art, feveral of them were afterwards taken by able artifts, as pupils and afiiftants, lbme of whom have lince riien to confiderable rank in their different profeffions. This fchool, and the lbciety, may be confidered as having at their commencement a kind of connexion, for they were for lbme time both held under one roof; and the firft premium conferred by the Societv for the Encouragement of Art, was given to Mr. Richard Coiwav. at that time a fcholar in Mr. Shipley's fchool, who has by no means difrraced the honourable diltinction which he then received. The exertions of the lbciety. which were fo laudablv directed towards Simulating the talents of the riling generation, received very effential aid from the liberality of an individual nobleman of high rank. * In the year 1758. the fociety gave their gold medal to Mr. Shiplev, with the following compliment, " For his public fpirit, which gave rife to the focietv." This gentleman is laid to have been a pupil of a perfon of the n?.me of Philips, who painted portraits, and reJided in Great Queen-ftreet, Lincoln's Inn Fields. There is a mezzotinto print by Faber, of a boy blowing a firebrand, marked with the name of Shipley as the painter. He afterwards retired to Maidftone in Kent. where he married and fettled. He died in 1804, above ninety vears ni a;e, jult fifty years after the eftablifhment of the inltitution, of which he might juftlv be confidered as the principal promoter. This xvi INTRODUCTIO X. This was the Duke of Richmond, who, ibon after his return from his travels, opened an admirable Ichool for the ftudy of painting and fculpture, at his own houie, in Privy Garden, "Whitehall. Itconiille.l of a gallery or great room, fitted up with every conveniency requifite for tiie accommodation of ftudents, and furnimed with a number of gefles, or cafts in plaiter of Paris, moulded from the moft felect antique and modern figures at that time at Rome and Florence. To this elegant Ichool, the young artifts were invited by a public advertisement. In confequence of this invitation, feveral young artifts of that time attended the room ;* and although his Grace did not exactly fulfil the expectations of Mr. Cipriani and Mr. Wilton, yet the ftudents were permitted to draw there for fe- veral years ; and it was in this ichool, that thofe young men acquired a purer tafte in the knowledge of the human form, than had before been cultivated by the artifts in England ; which improvement was greatly owing to the precepts of Mr. Cipriani and Mr. Wilton, who for feveral months attended, although in * The following is a copy of the certificate by which the ftudents were admitted to the gallery : " This is to certify, that the bearer, E. E. is above twelve years of age ; that he is recommended by Mr. Wilton, as a fober, diligent perfon, who is defirous of drawing from the geffes, and has promifed to obferve the rules of the room. He is therefore to be admitted. " Jos. Wiltox. * To the Porter of the Statue Room at Richmond Houfe." the IXTRODUCTIO y. -• .. the conclufion, their labour was not productive of any perfbnal emolument. The folio" . Lilt of the Figures in the Gallery, in 1770. l. Apollo - - Belvic. £ it Med::.: Peta el Aria. 4. Gladiator Pugnac?. :. Gladiator Morie. C. Meleager of the CapitoL * 7. Bacch . 5. Ar.t:r.:_s Car:: 9. Suianna of Fiamir.z . 10. Mercuri. n. C u p : i e : I ; IdoL I : . Bacchus of Sanfovino. 14. Venus de Medic. Venus extrading a thorn from her foot. Diogenes, l ". Flora of the CapitoL 18. Boxers or :rs. 19. Dancing Fawn. £0. Venus Callipsdia. si. Fa"^ n, with a Kid. £ i . C 1 :/...._ i xviii INTRODUCTION. 12. Camillas. S3. Ganymede of Benevenuto Cellini. Group, of Sampfoo and Phililtines, by J. de Bologna. Small ditto of Hercules and Antaeus, in terra cotta, ditto. Heads. Alexander, Seneca. Ariadne, Juno ; the heads from the large group of the Rape of the Sabines, by J. de Bologna, which is at Florence. Basso Relievos. Rape of the Sabines. Nova Xupta. Triumph of Ariadne, from Lorenzo Guiberli. To thefe were added a great number of cafts from the Trajan Column, and other works of art. Happily, this valuable collection, the firft of tire kind in England, was not injured when his Grace's houfe was burnt, Dec. 21, 1791. it this gallery was of the higheft advantage to thofe who attended it. willeafilybe conceived, when it is known, that it was the firfi fchool opened in this country, where the beauties of the antique could be ftudied. Yet. in fpite of all the advantages to be derived from it, in a few years it became almolt unknown, .•'and the foundation of the Roval Academv rendered it ulelefs) although the Chartered Society of Artiits. being unwilling to receive favours from the Academicians, folicited and obtained 4 his :: 7RODUCTIOV. his i penniffion to conduct the ichool for the advantage .heir own pupils : bat their attention was of fhort duration, and the place is no-v funkalmott into total oblivion, except win. ■ few aruTts who puriued their fiudks in it with the Author of the follow road of this opportunity of acknow- '.. . _ ■. i: ':.t "— t:t i: : -..:±i : t -. t^tnii .:.-.. - I:". ::_. .: ._" "— e ;:::;:.;:::::: -. :. -.:.-. i::? . ^ : f . i i the public fpirited and patriotic liberality of ieveral individuals, it ihonld not be forgotten, that the artifis ihearieives contri- bated greatly to the advancement and cultivation of their pro- fetfion; and it may with truth be affirmed, that the present Re .eat meai'ure ow- Ed the who noariihed at the commencement of the laft century. Buttotra. tution in :: advancement, from its infantine irate to its prefent maturir will be necettkry to refer back to a period prior to the ftrahKih- ment of any of the former fociet l ; and Foundation of the Re rai Academy A v mpoffible to acquire any excellence in pain: . •lure without a tbor e human form, it has always been found ne f fome living modeL :'-. the purpose of _ publicly cultivated and eucouragec in 1 by national lchools or acade: Lnsiand, during the feme jd, fuch'femmar:-- wn: and k ir treme xx INTRODUCTION. tremely difficult to trace the origin, or afcertain the period, when thofe nurferies of art were fir ft attempted in this country, efpe- cially as every eftablifhment of that kind was of a private and temporary nature, depending chiefly upon the protection of fome artift of rank and reputation in his day. The firft attempt towards the eftablifhment of an academy, is mentioned by Mr. Walpole, in his anecdotes of Mr. Vertue, the Engraver, where it is faid, that he drew in the Academy formed by feveral artifts, with Sir Godfrey Kneller at their head, in the year 1711. Afterwards we find, by other accounts in the fame author, which are corroborated by authentic information, that Sir James Thornhill formed an academy * in his own houfe, in the Piazza, Covent Garden. But this was not of long duration, for it com- menced in 172 4, and he died in 17^4; which reduced the artifts again to feek fome new feminary ; for the public of that day was fo little acquainted with the ufe of fuch fchools, that they were even fufpecled of being held for immoral purpofes. After the death of Sir James, fome attempts were made to continue the meetings of the members; but of their conduct or fuccefs, no authentic accounts can now be procured. But the artifts were not long in this unfettled ftate, for a few of them (chiefly foreigners) finding themfelves without the neceflary * Mr. Yandergutch, the engraver, who died in 1778, at the advanced age of 80, ftudied in this academy, and frequently placed the model. Mr. Walpole tells us, that Sir James had before propofed to Lord Halifax, to obtain the foundation of a Royal Academy at the upper end of the Mews, with apartments for the Profeffors, which, by an eftimate he had made, would have coft but£.3,13p. Vide 4th vol. oft. example r.jog. T-£ham&ars fc INTRODUCTION. xxi example of a living model, formed a fmall fociety, and eftabliilied their regular meetings of ftudy in a covenient apartment in Greyhound Court, Arundel-ftreet.* The principal conductor of this feminary was Mr. G. Michael Moier. f Here they were vifited by fome of their contemporary artifts, ^ who were fo well pleafed with the propriety of their condu6l, and fo thoroughly convinced of the utility of the in- ftitution, that a general union took place ; and the members thereby becoming numerous, they required and fought for a more convenient iituation and accommodation for their fchool. I low long they remained in Greyhound Court cannot now be known; but at length they removed to a very convenient fituation .for their purpofe, in Peter's Court, St. Martin's Lane ; and it can be afcertained that they were fettled there before the year 1739. In this fituation, the ftudy of the human figure was carried on. till the year 1767, when they removed to Pall Mall, for better accommodation. But a permanent and confpicuous eitablifhment, comprehending other advantages, was ftill wanting. On this account the prin- cipal artifts held feveral meetings, to which they afterwards invited their brethren to meet them, and affift in forming a public academy. * In the houfe of Mr. Peter Hyde, a painter, who afterwards went as a mif-. fionary with a party of Moravians to Philadelphia. t When the Royal Academy was eftablifhed he was appointed Keeper t Mr. Hogarth, Mr. Wills, and Mr. Ellis. For xxii INTRODUCTION. For this purpofe, the following printed letter was circulated: " Academy of Painting, Sculpture, &c. in St. Martin's Lane, Tuefday, Oct. the 23d, 1753. " There, is a fcheme fet on foot for erecting a public academy, " for the improvement of the arts of painting, fculpture, and " architecture; and as it is thought neceflary to have a certain " number of profeflbrs, with proper authority, in order to the " making regulations, taking in fubferiptions, erecting a building, " inftructing the itudents, and concerting all fuch ineafures as " fhall be afterwards thought neceffary ; Your Company is " delired at the Turk's Head, in Greek-ftreet, Soho, on Thurfday " the 13th of November, at five in the evening, precilely, to " proceed to the election of thirteen painters, three fculptors, " one chafer, two engravers, and two architects ; in all twenty " four, for the purpofes aforefaid. " Francis aIilxer Newton, Secretarv." " P. S. Pleafe to bring the enclofed lift, marked with a crofs " before the names of thirteen painters, three fculptors, one " chafer, two engravers, and two architects, as (hall appear to " you the moft able artifts in their feveral profefiions, and in all " other refpects the moft proper for conducting this defign. If " you cannot attend, it is expected that you will fend your lift, " fealed and encloled in a cover, directed to me at the Turk's " Head in Greek-ftreet, Soho, and that you will write your " name • ^ \ 1 jjt 1 1 1 5 Vv C 8 < | 3 \§ ' § r ^ H M *< "> wt K rs | r> > INTRODUCTION. xxiii " name in the cover, without which no regard Mill be paid " to it " The lift, in that cafe, will be immediately taken out of the " cover, and mixed with the other lifts, fo that it ihall not be " known from whom it came ; all imaginable methods being " concerted for carrying on this election without any favour or " partiality. " If you know of any artift of fufficient merit to be elected as " a profeflbr, and who has been overlooked, in drawing out the " enclofed lift, be pleated to write his name, according to his " place in the alphabet, with a crofs before it."' " To Mr. P- S ."* In confequence of this invitation, a meeting ^ was held at the place appointed ; but as there are no records of the tranfaction, or refolutions of the artifts who affembled upon that occafion, it can only be afcertained, that nothing was done towards attaining the object of their wiihes , and they remained at their former private fituation, in St. Martin's Lane, for above fourteen years, where they purfued their ftudiesin a very refpeclable manner, with no other fupport than the individual fubfcriptions of their own members. * The printed original, which is fuppofed to be unique, is in the poffeffion of Paul Sandby, Efq; R. A. to whom it was addrefied. -j- In confequence of this meeting, fome fatirical prints were publifhed, in which the ridicule was pointed at thofe who propofed to form the fociety ; but few of thefe are now to be found, except in the poffeffion of curious col- lectors. Although sxiv INTRODUCTION. Although thcfe endeavours of the artifts had not fucceed^d, they were far from being lb dilcouraged as not to continue their meet- ings, as well as their ftudies; and the next effort they made, towards acquiring the attention of the public, was connected with the Foundling Hofpital. This inftitution, fo humane in its primitive intention, whatever may be thought of its effects, was incorporated by Charter, dated 1739. A few years after that period, the prelent building was erected ; but as the income of the charity could, with no propriety, be expended upon decorations, many of the prin- cipal artifts of that day voluntarily exerted their talents for the purpoie of ornamenting feveral of the apartments of the Hofpital, which othenvife muft have remained without decoration. The pictures thus produced, and generoufly given, were permitted to be feen by any vililor, upon proper application. The lpec- tacle was lb new, that it made a confiderable impreffion upon the public, and the favourable reception thefe works experienced, imprefled the artifts with an idea of forming a public Exhibition, which fcheme was carried into full effect in the following manner. As that public fpirited fociety, which had then been fome time eltablifhed, for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce,* poffefled large, convenient, and elegant accommo- dations, * Some years before this period, the fociety bad attended to the foli- eitattons of the artifts, as may be feen by the following extracl from their .minutes. - • " A plan INTRODUCTION. xxy clarions, the principal artifts united, and petitioned the ibciety to allow them the ufe of their great room, which requeft was very liberally granted ; and the firft exhibition opened April the 21 ft, 17GO. To this the public were admitted gratis, the cata- logues being fold at the price of fix- pence to thofe who required them. The fuccefs of this firft public difplay of art was more than equal to general expectation. Yet there were fome circumftances, confequent to the arrangement of the pictures, with which the artifts were very juftly diflatisfied : they were occafioned by the following improprieties. The fociety, in the fame year, had offered premiums for the beft painting of hiftory, and landfcape ; and it was one of the conditions, that the pictures produced by the candidates mould remain in their great room for a certain time ; confequently they were blended with the reft, and formed part of the exhibition. As it was foon known which performances had obtained the premiums, it was naturally fuppofed, by fuch perfons who were deficient in judgment, that thofe pictures were the beft in the room, and confequently deferved the chief attention. This partial, though unmerited felection, gave difpleafure to the artifts in general. Nor were they pleafed with the mode of admitting the fpectators, for every member of the fociety had the dis- cretionary privilege of introducing as many perfons as he " A plan for an Academy for Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, was " prefented by Mr. Cherie, and read, for which thanks were ordered, and a corrtf- " pondence with the faid Academy defired." " Feb. 19, 1755." e chofe, xxvi INTRODUCTION. chofe, by means of gratuitous tickets; and consequently the company was far from being felect, or fuited to the willies of the exhibitors. Thefe circumftances, together with the interference of the fociety in the concerns of the exhibition, determined the principal artifts to withdraw themfelves, which they did in the next year. Encouraged by the fuccefs of their firft attempt, they engaged the great room in Spring Garden ; and their firft exhibition at that place opened on the 9th of May, 1761. Here they found it necefTary to change their mode of admiffion, which they did by the following method. The catalogue was the ticket of admiffion ; confequently, one catalogue would admit a whole family in fucceffion, for a milling, which was its price. But this mode of admittance was ftill productive of crowd and diforder, and it was therefore altered the next year. This exhibition, which was the fecond in this country, contained feveral works of the beft Englifh artifts, among which, many of the pictures were equal to any mafters then living in Europe; and fo flrikingly confpicuous were their merits, and fo forcible was the effe6l of this difplay of art, that it drew from the pen of Itoubilliac, the fculptor, the following lines, which were ftuck up in the exhibition room, and were alfo printed in the St. James's Chronicle, May 14, 1761. Pretendu Connoifeur qui fur l'Antique glofe, Idolatrant le horn, fans Connoitre la Chofe, Vrai Pefte des beaux Arts, fans Gout fans Equite, Quitez ce ton pedant, ce mepris aftecle, Pour tout ce que le terns n'a pas encore gate. Ne INTRODUCTION. xxvii ■Ne peus tu pas, en admirant ; Les Maitres de la Grece, & ceux de l'ltalie Rendre juftice egalement ; A ceux qu'a nourris ta Patrie ? Vois ce Salon, et tu perdras, Cette prevention injufte. Et bien etonne Conviendras Qu'il ne faut pas qu'un Mecenas Pour revoir Le Siecle d' Augufte. - In the following fealbn they opened on May 17th, and they ventured to fix the price of admijjion at one fhilling each perfon, but had the precaution to affix a conciliatory preface * to their catalogue, which was given gratis. This * " The public may juftly require to be informed of the nature and extent of ** every defign for which the favour of the public is openly folicited. The " artifts who were themfelves the firft promoters of an exhibition in this " nation, and who have now contributed to the following Catalogue, think it " therefore neceffary to explain their purpofe, and juftify their conduft. An " exhibition of the works of art being a fpe&acle new in this kingdom, has " raifed various opinions and conjectures among thofe who are unacquainted " with the praftice in foreign nations. Thofe who fet their performances to " general view, have been too often confidered as the rivals of each other ; as " men actuated, if not by avarice, at leaft by vanity, arid contending for fupe- " riority of fame, though not for a pecuniary prize. It cannot be denied or " doubted, that all who offer themfelves to criticifm are defirous of praife ; " this defire is not only innocent but virtuous, while it is undebafed by artifice, M and unpolluted by envy; and of envy or artifice thofe men can never be " accufed, wlie already enjoying all the honours and profits of their profelfion, e 2 " are xxviii INTRODUCTION. This mode of admittance was found to anfwer all the wiilied-for purpofes, and the vifitors, who were highly refpeclable, were alio perfectly " are content to (land candidates for public notice, with genius yet unexpe- " rienced, and diligence yet unrewarded ; who, without any hope of increaling " their own reputation or intereft, expofe their names and their works, only " that they may furnifli an opportunity of appearance to the young, the diffi- " dent, and the neglecled. The purpofe of this exhibition is not to enrich the " artift, but to advance the art ; the eminent are not flattered with preference, " nor the obfcure infulted with contempt; whoever hopes to deferve public " favour, is here invited to difplay his merit. Of the price put upon this " exhibition fume account may be demanded. Whoever fets his work to be " fhewn, naturally defi res a multitude of fpeftators ; but his delire defeats its " own end, when fpettators affemble in fuch numbers as to obftrucl; one " another. " Though wc are far from wifhing to diminifli the pleafures, or depreciate " the fentiments of any clafs of the community, we know, however, what every " one knows, that all cannot be judges or purchafers of works of art. Yet we " have already found by experience, that all are defirous to fee an exhibition. " When the terms of admiilion were low, our room was throng'd with fuch mul- " titudes, as made accefs dangerous, and frightened away thofe, whole appro- " bation was moll; defired. " Yet becaufe it is feldom believed that money is got but for die love of " money, we fhall tell the ufe which we intend to make of our expected profits. " Many artifts of great abilities are unable to fell their works for their due "price; to remove this inconvenience, an annual fale* will be appointed, to " which every man may fend his works, and fend them, if he will, without his " name. Thefe works will be reviewed by the committee that conduct the " exhibition ; a price will be fecretly fet on every piece, and regiftered by the " fecretary ; if the price expofed for fale is fold for more, the whole price fhall be " the artifts; but if the purchafers value it at lefs than the committee, the artift " mail * This propofal was tried a fhort time afterwards, and a fale by auclion was made of the works of many of the then living artifts, at Langford's room in the Piazza, Govent Garden; but the fuccefs of the fcheme was not anfwerable to the wiflies of its promoters, and therefore it was never after repeated. INTRODUCTION. xxix perfe£lly gratified with the difplay of art, which, for the firft time, they beheld with eafe and pleafureto themfelves. The exhibition, thus eitabliihed, continued at the Spring Garden Room, under the direction and management of the prin- cipal artifts by whom it was firft promoted, and they were foon after joined by many of thofe who had continued to exhibit in the Strand ; which party being moftly compofed of young men, and others who chofe to become candidates for the premiums given by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, thought it pru- dent to remain under their protection. But the fociety finding that thofe who continued with them began to diminifh in their numbers, and that the exhibition interfered with their own con- cerns, no longer indulged them * with the ufe of their room, and the exhibitions at that place terminated in 170*4. The " fhall be paid the deficiency from the profits of the exhibition." — This preface was written by Dr. Johnfon. * Thefe artifts, who were moftly the younger part of the profeffion at that time, being thus excluded from the iituation they had formerly occupied in the Strand, engaged a large room in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, belonging to a perfon of the name of Moring, where they exhibited for two fucceflive fealbns (namely 1765 and 1766). But this Iituation not being favourable, they engaged with Mr. Chriftie, in building his room, near Cumberland Houfe, Pall Mall, and the agreement was, that they fhould have it for their ufe during one month every year, in the fpring. Here they contrived to fupport a feeble exhibition for eight years (till the year 1774), ■when their engagements interfering with Mr. Chriftie's auctions, he purchafed their fhare of the premil'es, and they made their laft removal to a room in St. Alban's-ftreet, where they exhibited the next feafon, but never after attempted to attract public no- tice. It muft be obferved, that while this fociety continued, there were annually three exhibitions of the works of Englifh artifts, namely, the Royal Academy ; the Char- tered Society ; and that which is mentioned in this note, the members of which ftyled themfelves The Free Society of Artifts. Their exhibition was confiderably inferior to thofe of their rivals. xxx INTRODUCTION. The artifts who formed the exhibition at the Spring Garden Room, finding themfelves poffeffed of property by the profits of their exhibitions, thought themfelves authorised to endeavour to obtain a legal eftablifhment; for which purpofe they folicited and obtained a charter, which his Majefty was gracioufly pleafed to confirm to them by his fignature on the 26th of January 176.5. Having obtained the charter, it might naturally be fuppofed that the fociety would be placed in a fituation, and furniihed with the means of cultivating their mutual interefts to the beft advantage ; but, unfortunately, they were fcarcely collected when diiTenfions arofe, which in the courfe of three years caufed an irreparable breach, and in the end a total dillblution of the incorporated fociety. This event was in a great degree occalioned by the loofe and unguarded manner in which the charter was compofed ; fdr it did not provide againft the admifiion of thofe who were diftinguifhed neither by their talents as artifts, nor by their good conduct as men. In confequence of this indifcriminate admiffion of perfons, many of the inferior practitioners were no fooner feated as mem- bers of the fociety, but they began to cavil at the conduct of the Directors, though they were the original founders and chief fup- porters of the fociety; and a party was foon formed, by whom it was r'efolved to exclude feveral of the principal Directors from their official fituation, although they had no complaint to allege againft them. For the purpofe of carrying this project into effect, a few of the refractory members, to the number of feven, met at a tavern, I and INTRODUCTION. xxxi and iffued the following printed tetter, which was circulated to the members : " Sir, " At the laft General Quarterly Meeting of the Society of " Artiits, a law was propofed, and carried by a great majority, " to fecure the election of eight new Directors annually. This " propofition for a law being referred to the Directors, has " fince been returned with their abfolute refufal, notwithstanding " the Attorney General's opinion, that the fociety has full power, " by their charter, to make fuch law, and to which opinion the " Directors had previously determined to abide ; and, as a fur- " ther aggravation, it muft be obferved, that the Directors were " not fatisfied with this ufe of their power, but added to it molt " reproachful reflections on the Fellows of the fociety. " This is therefore to delire your attendance on Thurfday next, " at fix o'clock, at the Caftle Tavern, Henrietta-ftreet, Covent " Garden, to meet the reft of the Fellows of the fociety, in order " to confider of the proper perfons to ferve as Directors for the " year enfuing, whereby it is hoped, that fuch perfons will be " named who will confider the general interefts of the fociety. " We are," &c. " Caftle Tavern, Henrietta-ftreet, 8 o'clock, Od. 8. 1768." In confequence of this invitation, a meeting was held, and the factious party, with grofs impropriety, infifted, that all who were there affembled fhould vote at the enfuing election agreeably to die xxxii INTRODUCTION. the retaliations which fhould be then paffed by the majority of that meeting. This propofition was refifted by many, and much confufion and diforder took place. Not content with this arbitrary proceeding, one of the party took upon himfelf to call upon every member who had attended the Caftle Tavern Meeting, and requefted to fee his balloting lift, which requeft was made for the purpofe of putting a private mark, by which it might be known, at the future fcrutiny, who had voted according to their influence, and who had failed. The refult of thefe violent proceedings was what might eafily have been forefeen by the factious cabal — no lefs than a fudden de- fection of the moft refpectable artifts, chiefly thole who had been the founders of the exhibition, and the fupporters of the private academy. At the next feftival of St. Luke, the day fpecified by the char- ter for the election of Officers and Directors, it was found, upon fcrutinizing the votes, that nearly two-thirds of the primitive Directors were excluded : among which Mr. Hayman was dif- poffeffed of the chair, and Mr. Kirby elected in his place ; Mr. Newton, the Secretary, was alfo removed, and other changes were made; but eight of the former Directors were retained. This re- folution introduced feveral very inferior artifts into the places of the moft refpeftable of thofe from whom the fociety, together with the private academy and the exhibition, received their origin and fupport. This fudden revolution of the order by which the affairs of the fociety had been directed, fatisfied no one except thofe of the cabal with whom the order originated ; yet it was vainly hoped that peace might be reftored, and that the INTRODUCTION. xxxiii the new Directors would unite to accomplifh that defirable ac- quifition ; but the firft meeting that was held by the new Direc- tors, when they took their feats, convinced the confiderate part of the fociety, that private pique and the thirft of power were the only motives which directed their conduct, and occafioned their clamour for what they called reform. The majority of the new Directors, being the perlbns who com- posed the party which clamoured for the law to exclude, an- nually, eight Directors, ftill continued their former demands, and, far from endeavouring to reftore the peace of the fociety, did, by their improper conduit, only increafe the difguft of thofe who had before received fufficient provocation, from their illiberal treatment. The confequence was, thai thofe eight gentlemen of the former Directors, who remained in the new arrangement, were fo much difgufted with the behaviour of their new colleagues in office, that they retired from the fociety, and formally fignined their refignation by the following letter, addrefled to the Prefident: " Sir, " Though we had the ftrongeft obje&ions to the unwarrant- " able manner in which mod of the prefent Directors of the " fociety were elected, yet our affection for the community was " fuch, that we had, in fpite of every motive to the contrary, re- " folved to keep poffeffion of our directorfhips. But finding the " majority of the prefent Directors bent upon meafures which we " think repugnant to our charter, and tending to the deftruction " of the fociety, we judge it no longer fafe to keep pofleffion of xxxiv INTRODUCTION. " our employments; therefore do hereby refign them, that no " part of the blame, which will naturally follow the meaiures u now purfuing, may, in any fliape, be laid upon us. " From the motions and intinuations of the laft meeting, we " clearly fee what plan is to be purfued ; and we likewife clearly *' perceive, that however odious and hurtful fuch a plan may be, " we fliall find it utterly impoflible to prevent it. " We would not, however, by any means be underftood to " object to every remaining Director. You, Sir, and fome " others, we have the higheft efteem for, as you have been elected " into your offices without taking part in any intrigue, and, being " men of honour and ability in your profeffions, are extremely " proper to fill the places you occupy. We are, therefore, " Your and their " Moft obedient humble Servants, " Jos h Wilton. W m Chambers. " Edw d Penny. -G. M. Mofer. " Rich d Wilibn. Paul Sandby. " Benj n Weft. I. M. Newton." * Nov. loth, 1768. " To Jofhua Kirby, Efq. * l PreTident of the Society of Artifts of Great Britain." The fentiments contained in this letter, and, above all, the re- fio-nations of the eight gentlemen whofe names were fubfcribed to it, formed an event which the refractory part of the fociety neither ex peeled, nor were prepared to meet, and they were not a little €xafperated, efpecially as they began to difcover that an inftitu- tioB INTRODUCTION. xxxv tion was forming which would very foon fuperfede, both in ho- nour and public utility, all that their own endeavours could pof- fibly achieve ; this was no lefs than the eftablifhment of a Royal Academy, under the immediate protection of his Majefty, in which themfelves would bear no part. As fuch an eftablifhment had long been the wifh of the moft refpectable artifts of the kingdom, fo it was alfo an object of attention with his Majefty. Thefe confiderations infpired the principal gentlemen, who had received fuch improper treatment from the majority of the Chartered Society, with the refolution of addreffing the Sovereign with a petition, foliciting his patronage and protection to fuch an inftitution : This petition was figned by Mr. F. Cotes, Mr. Mofer, Mr. B. Weft, and Mr. Chambers, the archi- tect, who had the honour of receiving his Majefty's ready affent to their requeft. Authorized by this encouragement. Mr. Chambers- undertook the talk of digefting the plan or form of the intended inftitution, together with the laws neceffary for its government, all of which were arranged under the immediate inflection of his Majefty, and, when completed, received his fignature, conftituting the Royal Academy of Great Britain; immediately after which the members held their firft meeting on the 10th of December 1768, when Sir Jofliua Reynolds delivered a very fenfible and appro- priate difcourfe. Thus, after many fruitlefs attempts which had been made by the moft confiderable artifts of the kingdom for near fixty years, a Royal Academy was founded under the patronage and imme- diate protection of " a Monarch, who, knowing the value of f 2 " fcience xxxvi INTRODUCTION. " lcience and of elegant ftudies, thinks every art worthy of his li notice that tends to foften and humanize the mind." Vide Sir Jofhua's lft Difcourfe. But this fchool of art, though thus firmly eftablifhed, was yet under the necefiity of remaining for fome time confined to ac- commodations by no means fuitable to its importance, being firft held pro tempore in fome large apartments which had been built for auction rooms, oppofite to Market Lane, Pall Mall ; and here the firft lecture was delivered Oct. 6, 17C9, by Dr. Wm. Hunter, who was the firft Profeifor of Anatomy. In this fituation they remained till the year 1771, when his Majefty was gracioufly pleafed, Jan. 14, to grant them the ufe of the royal apartments at Old Somerfet Palace, where the eltablifh- ment was fixed to nearly its full extent. Here the lectures were regularly delivered, and the library was opened for the ufe of the itudents. In 1773, the Keeper was alfo accommodated with apartments, where he fixed his relidence. But they were ftill obliged to continue their exhibitions at their old room in Pall Mall. When it was determined to remove fome of the offices of pr>- vcrnment to the fpot where the old palace of Somerfet Houfe ftood *, his Majefty was gracioufly pleafed to order, that the Royal Society, the Antiquarian Society, and the Royal Academy, fhould all be united under one roof; and when thole premiles * In 1774, an Aft of Parliament pafied for embanking of the River Thames before Somerfet Houfe, &c. ; for building upon the ground thereof various offices fpecified in the Aft ; together with fuch other public offices and buildings as his Majefty fhould think fit. were INTRODUCTION. xxxvii were fit for their reception they were fettled in their prefent fitua- tion, at Somerfet Buildings in the Strand ; and the Royal Academy opened their firft exhibition at that place May ift, 1780; at which time the Keeper and Secretary were both fettled in fuit- able apartments, and the library was foon after opened with con- fiderable improvements. The lectures alfo commenced October the 2Sd of the fame year. Thus the eitablifhment of a Royal Academy in England, lb long the deiideratum of the Britifti artifts, was completely effected, witli every accommodation fuitable to the rank of the Royal Founder, and in the higheft degree honour- able to the country. Having thus briefly Mated the foundation of the Royal Academy, it will be proper to give fome account of the conduct of the remaining members of the Incorporated Society. Thefe turbulent gentlemen, finding themfelves unexpectedly for- faken by thole they had endeavoured to control, were moft highly provoked, and immediately proceeded to inftitute a private academy* for themfelves; but fearing his Majefty might take offence at their conduct, they very prudently prefented a petition, through the means of Mr. Kiiby, their Prefident, who foon after delivered his Majefty's anfwer, which was to the following pur- port : " The Society had his Majefty's protection ; that he did " not mean to encourage one let of men more than another; * The place of their meeting was at a large room, behind the premifes at that time, and which had been for many years, over the famous cyder cellar in Maiden Lane, Covent Garden. Here they fitted up convenient accommodations for an academy; but the party who managed the bufmefs were rather too young and too unfteady in their condud, and the meetings mfenlibly diflblved in little more than two years. " that xxxviii INTRODUCTION. " that having extended his favour to the fociety by his royal " charter, he had alfo encouraged the new petitioners ; that " his intention was to patronize the arts ; that the fociety might " reft aifured his royal favour mould be equally extended to " both, and that he mould vifit their exhibitions as ufual." His Majefty accordingly vifited their next exhibition, which was, as before, at the Great Room, Spring Garden, and prefented the fociety with one hundred pounds ; but this was the laft time he favoured them by fuch honourable diftinclion. This fociety continued their exhibitions at the Spring Garden Room u^itil the year 1771, when, having refolved to build a room for themfelves, they, in their catalogue of that year's exhibition, gave the following notice: — " The Society of Artifts of Great Britain take the prelent " opportunity of acquainting the public, that this is the laft exhi- " bition they fhall have at the room they now occupy in Spring " Gardens, having pnrr.hafed a fpot of ground in a fituation " more commodious and central to the inhabitants of this great " metropolis, on which to erect an Academy, Exhibition " Room, &c. and with which the public fhall in due time be " made acquainted." The fame year they alfo publifhed a pamphlet, containing ac- cufations againft the gentlemen, members of the Royal Academy, whom- they affectedly boafted to have expelled ; meaning thole gentlemen who had voluntarily retired from their fociety. The next year they removed to the edifice which they had erected for themfelves, agreeably to their former advertifement. 4 This- INTRODUCTION. xxxix This building was no lei's than the large room, now called the Lyceum, in the Strand ; * the conftrucYion of which, together with the purchafe of the ground, nearly exhaufted the whole of their finances. Here they remained until they found their fund too much diminifhed to fupport the expences of their eftablifhment; and, perceiving that thofe who had exhibited with them began to dimi- nifli in their numbers, the Directors relinquifhed their room, and engaged another in Piccadilly, which had been built for an auction room by a perfon of the name of Phillips, a woollen-draper, near the Black Bear Inn. Here they exhibited for two years, and until this time they had contrived to exhibit regularly every year; but afterwards their exhibitions were very irregular and uncertain, the next being at Spring Garden Room in the year 1780. They then returned to the Lyceum in the Strand, where they exhibited in 1783, though they had long before diipofed of thofe premifes. After this, they made no farther attempts until the year 1790, when they again tried to introduce themlelves to public notice, and fubjoined a preface to the catalogue of their exhibition. The next year they repeated their feeble efforts in the fame room ; but the articles they had then collected were very infignifi- cant, moft of which could not be confidered as works of art ; fuch as pieces of needle-work, fubje&s in human hair, cut paper, and fuch limilar productions, as deferve not the recommendation of a public exhibition. * It was built under the direction of Mr. James Paine, fenior, the architect, and was well calculated for the purpol'e. Being defnous of opening this room with fome eclat, they employed the Rev. Evan Lloyd to write an Ode, which was fet to mufic by Mr. Hook, and performed in the room, a few days before their exhibition opened. W« HOG A KTH W Oct: iG^ijG* . tfae.2 Cj CtcK'd Jy Jam- f refund Jrvm. : Sec the Anecdote*, vol. iv. page 219, oclavo edition. Anecdotes of Painting. 3 BLAKEY. Of this artift little is known, though he was certainly of fome celebrity about the middle of the laft Century. There are feveral engravings, after defigns made by him, which decorate different publications of that period, particularly in Mr. Pope's Works, and alfo in Jonas Hanway's Travels through Perfia, which laft work is dated 1753. He lived for the moll part in Paris; was there in 1747, and it feems, by the ftyle of his defigns, that as an artift he had received his education in that city. He was employed, in conjunction with Mr. Hayman, to make defigns for a fet of prints, the fubjects of which reprefent fome of the principal events in the early periods of the Engliili hiftory ; they are as follow : 1. The Landing of Julius Casfar, 2. Caractacus, the Britifh Prince,} before Claudius at Rome, $ 3. Converfion of the Britons to} Chriftianity, J 4. Vortigern and Rowana, or the Settlement of the Saxons in England, 5. Alfred receiving News of a^ Victory over the Danes, ^ 6. The Battle of Haftings, or} Death of Harold, j b 2 i Defigned by Mr. Blakey. Engraved by C. Grignion. Hayman. C. Grignion. Havman. F. Ravenet. Blakey. Scotin. Blakey. Scotin. The Landscape by Viva re*. Hayman. C. Grignion. This 4 Anecdotes of Painting. This fet of prints may be confidered as the firft attempt that was made in England to produce a regular fuite of engravings from our national hiftory. The work was fupported by fub- fcription, and publifhed by J. and P. Knapton, who then refided in Ludgate-ftreet. Whether they were publithed to- gether, or in pairs fucceffively, is not known. The greater number are dated 175 1, and fome 1752. There is alfo a very beautiful print, which ferves as a frontif- piece to a fet of fongs compofed by Mr. Ofwald ; the fubjeft, Nymphs dancing. It was defigned by Mr. Blakey, and engraved by a perfon of the name of Ingram. WM. KEEBLE Was a painter of portraits; and in the year 1754 was a mem- ber of the Academy in St. Martin's Lane. His name Hands in the lift of fubfcribers to Mr. Kirby's firft edition of his Treatife on Peripeclive ; but of his abilities, as an artift, the Author is entirely ignorant. There is a mezzotinto print by Mac Ardell, which was exe- cuted after a picture painted by Air. Keeble. It is the whole- length portrait of Sir Crifp Gafcoyne, Knight, Lord Mayor of London in 1753. Anecdotes of Painting. BROOKING Had been bred in fome department in the dock-yard at Dept- ford, but practifed as a fhip painter, in which he certainly- excelled all his countrymen ; nor has any fince Vandervelde equalled his productions in that department of painting : but his merits were fcarcely known before his death prevented him from acquiring the honour and profit which, by his abili- ties he had a juft right to expect. He died of a confumption at his lodging in Caiile-ftreet, Leicefler-fquare, in the fpring of the year 1759, under forty years of age. The following anec- dote is given upon the authority of the late Mr. D. Serres, to whom he was well known. Many of the artifts of that time worked for the mops, and Brooking, like the reft, painted much for a perfon who lived in CarHe-ttreet, Leicefler-fquare, not far from the Mews, who coloured prints, and dealt in pictures, which he expofed at his mop window. A gentleman, who fometimes paffed the mop, being ftruck with the merits of fome fea pieces, which were by the hand of this artift, defired to know his name ; but his inquiries were not anfwered agreeably to his willies j he was only told, that if he pleafed they could procure any that he might require from the fame painter. Brooking was accuflomed to write his name upon his pictures, which mark was as confiantly obliterated by the mopkeeper, before he placed them in his window j it however happened that 6 Anecdotes &f Painting, i that the art ill carried home a piece, on which his name was inferibed, while the mailer was not at home ; and the wife, who received it, placed it in the window, without effacing the fignature. Luckily, the gentleman pafled by before this picture was removed, and difcovered the name of the painter whofe works he fo juftly admired. He immediately advertifed for the artift to meet him at a certain wholefale linen-draper's in the city. To this invitation Brooking at lirft paid no regard ; but feeing it repeated with aflurances of benefit to the perfon to whom it was addrefled, he prudently attended, and had an interview with the gentle- man, who from that time became his friend and patron : un- fortunately the artift did not live long enough to gratify the willies of his benefactor, or to receive any great benefit from his patronage. THOMAS BARDWELL Was chiefly confidered as a copyift. In original works he held no very high rank. He pointed a picture of Dr. Ward relieving his fick and lame patients, which was in the Doctor's parlour, when he lived at Whitehall, about the year 1760, and from which there is an engraved print, without the name of the engraver, but dated in 1748-9, and appears to be the work of Baron. Befides this print there is a mezzotinto of Admiral Vernon, from a picture painted by Bardwell, in 1 744. At what time this artifl Anecdotes of Painting. 7 artift died is not known, but it is probable that he was living in 1773, as a fecond edition of his treatife was publiflied in that year. Whatever Bardwell's merits might be as a painter, he cer- tainly thought himfelf qualified to give inftru<5tions in the practical part of the art, and publiihed a quarto pamphlet, of fixty-four pages, entitled, the Practice of Painting and Perfpec- tive made eafy ; printed for Miller in Bungay. The patent which ftands at the head of the work is dated 1756, and figned H. Fox, and the dedication is to the Earl of Rorhford. It muft be confeffed, that the inftruclions contained in that fliort work, fo far as they relate to the procefs of painting, are the belt that have hitherto been publiflied, and many young artifls at that time found it ufeful : but the perfpective of the work does not deferve equal praife, as no part is properly explained ; and fome of the figures are falfe, as, for example, that which relates to mouldings. However, this part of the work is ele- gantly decorated by fix plates engraved by Vivares. The prin- cipal part of the pamphlet has fince been republifhed in oclavo in 1795, and very improperly announced as an original publication : The Editor fiightly alludes to the name of Bardwell, yet tranfcribes the whole of his work, except the perfpective, (which is omitted) and fupplies the reft of the volume by the addition of a kw receipts for vamifhes, taken from older books. 8 Anecdotes of Painting. J. WHOOD, or HOOD, A portrait painter, who refided for fome years in Lincoln's-Inn Fields, was in confiderable practice about the \ r ear 1740. Mr. Paul Sandby, to whom the author is indebted for his information concerning this artift, has in his ^offeflion a whole- length picture of a young lady, painted by Mr. Whood, which is by no means inferior to the works of any artift of that time. It is unaffectedly treated, and represents the drefs of the age when it was executed ; a circumftance that will never degrade the bell portrait, and may give fome value to the worft. In the latter part of his life, he was in reduced circumftances, his fortune being impaired by the expenfes of a Chancery fuit in which he was engaged for the recovery of an eftate that had been devifed to him. There are fome mezzotinto prints after portraits which were painted by this artift ; one in particular of Laur. Del Vaux, the fculptor, dated 1734. It was fcraped by Van Hacken, in the following year. It is not known when this artift died, but it is fuppofed to have been before the year 1770. GEORGE BUDD Had been bred a hofier, but afterwards purfued painting. He praclifed in portrait, landfcape, and fometimes ftill-Iife; he alfo taught drawing, and for feveral years attended Dr. Newcoml/s Anecdotes of Painting. g Newccmb's Academy at Hackney. There is a mezzotinto print by Mr. Mac Ardell *, after a pifture painted by this artift, which is the portrait of Timothy Bennet, a fhoe- maker, who lived at Hampton Wick, and who refolutely fup- ported an action againft the Late Princefs Amelia, when ihe was Ranger of Bufhy Park, for fhutting up the road which the public enjoy through that beautiful fpot. To the honour of eur laws it rauft be obferved, that the fhoemaker obtained his fuit, and the road is ftill open. PHILIP DAWES, The natural fon of a gentleman in the city, was the pupil of Mr. Hogarth, but did not inherit any great portion of his matter's fpirit, though he endeavoured to tread in his (leps. In the year 1760, he was among thofe artifts who became can- didates for the premium offered by the Society for the Encour- agement of Arts, &c. for the befl hiftorical picture ; but his exertions were not attended with fuccefs, nor did he meet with much employment : on which account his circumftances were rather confined, till the death of his father, who left him a decent competency, which rendered the latter part of his life comfortable. His name ftands in the Catalogue of the firft Exhibition, in which was the picture he painted for the premium ; the fubjeft, * The print is dated 1756. C Mortimer io Anecdotes of Painting. Mortimer taken prifoner by Edward the Third, in Nottingham Caftle. In the following year, he alfo exhibited two pictures at the room in Spring Garden ; one of them from Jonfon's Comedy of " Every Man in his Humour ;" the fcene, Captain Bobadil cudgelled — from which there is an engraved print. His beft pictures bear a refemblance to the manner of his mafter, and fome of them have been dignified with the name of Hogarth ; but fuch mifnomers have only betrayed a w ant of knowledge, or integrity, in thofe by whom they were thus diftinguimed. It is not certainly known when he died, but it is fuppofed before the year 1780. PERRONEAU. A French artift, who painted in crayons with much reputation at Paris. He came to England about the year 1760, and exhi- bited, in 1761, four portraits in crayons; but they were feebly drawn, and coldly coloured, nor could they by any means ftand in competition with the portraits of Mr. Cotes. As he did not meet with the employment he expeeled, he made but a very fhort flay in England, and returned to Paris, where he was living in 1783. Anecdotes of Painting. 11 ROPER, A painter of fporting pieces, race-horfes, dogs, and dead game. He lived fome time in Little St. Martin's-lane, was an exhibitor at the room in Spring Garden, in 1761, and the fucceeding year, but did not long furvive that period. His powers as au artift were not confiderable, yet fufficient to fatisfy the gentlemen of the turf and ftable. JOHN PILLEMENT. A foreigner who refided for fome years in London. His chief employment was in making drawings of Iandfcapes and fancy pieces, which were generally executed in black chalk upon white paper, and fometimes ftrengthened with Indian ink. In their compofition, they were rather theatrical ; and the parts were felecled not from nature, but from prints. Thofe of Monfieur Le Bas, after Wouvermans, were the rich ftores whence he compiled all his pailicio productions. As his works were fmifhed with great care and labour, they obtained much notice from thofe who confidered neatnefs of execution as the perfection of art. He alfo painted a few pictures, in the fame ftyle of compo- fition with his drawings ; their colouring was fliewy, but not harmonious. d 2 There 12 A necdotes of Pain ting. There are likewife feveral prints of fantaftic ornaments, in what was then called the Chinefe tafte, which were publilhed after his defigns ; fome of thefe were engraved by Mr. Canot, and are dated 1759. He received much patronage and employment from a French dancing-mafter *, who at that time refided in Beaufort-buildings, in the Strand, and who, on his own account, had many plates engraved after the drawings that were made by this artift ; fome of which were executed by M. Ravenet. Mr. Boydell alfo published fome prints after Pillement's defigns. Several of his drawings were in the firft and fecond Exhibi- tions, at which time he pofleffed much reputation ; but he foon after left England. VANDYCK. Whether this artift was of the fame family with his prede- ceffor, Sir Antony, is not known j but he certainly bore no affinity to him in his talents as a painter : although, in the year 1762, he was an exhibitor, yet his pictures f were too mediocre, to make any impreffion on the memory of the author. It is equally unknown, whether this perfon be the fame who painted the portraits of William Prince of Orange, and his *Monfieur C.Leviez. He had reputation ir. bis profefiion, but employed him- felf much in dealing in prints and drawings. He died about the year 1778. There is a mezzotinto portrait of hiin by Mac Ardell, dated 1763. -(■ There were two, one a portrait of a Lady, the other hiftorical. Lady, Anecdotes of Painting. 13 Lady, Anne, Princefs Royal of England, about the time of their nuptials * ; for there are mezzotinto portraits of thofe royal perfonages, executed by Faber, after pictures which are marked P. Van Dyck as the painter. One of thefe prints is dated 1733; fo that the artifl, who exhibited, mull have been very far advanced in years, if he were the fame perfon who painted the Prince and his Bride. MISS CARWARDINE, A native of Herefordshire. She painted in miniature, and was an exhibitor in 17G1, after which her name no more appears in the catalogues of the Exhibition. She married a gentleman of the name of Butler, who was organilt to St. Margaret's and to St. Ann's, Wellminfter, and, upon her marriage, quitted the practice of painting. Of her abilities, as an artifl, the author has no recolle<5lion. T. FRYE. An ingenious artifl, pra&ifed in a variety of ways. He painted in oil, in crayons, and in miniature ; Jie alfo fcraped mezzotinto. In the firft Exhibition in 1760, there was a half- * The nuptials were performed on March 14, 1734, at St. James's. length 1 4 Anecdotes of Painting. length portrait of the famous finger, Mr. Leveridge*, which was painted by this artift, and pofieffed very confiderable merit. In the Exhibition of the following year, he alfo had pictures in all the different proceffes of oil colours, crayons, and minia- ture. Of his mezzotinto productions, there are fix heads as large as life : one of them is the portrait of the artift himfelf. To thefe may alfo be added two other portraits, of their Majefties, the fame fize with the former, but inferior in execution. It may here be obferved, that no branch of engraving, whe- ther in mezzotinto, or ftrokes, can be fuited to the difplay of portraits of fuch magnitude ; this affertion is clearly proved by an inflection of the above-mentioned prints, as alfo the large portraits of Louis Quatorze, and others of his court, that were engraved by Nanteuil, which, notwithilanding their merit, nei- ther pleafe the eye nor fatisfy the judgment. In the great room of Saddlers Hall, Cheapfide, there is a whole-length portrait of his late Royal Ilighnefs Frederick Prince of Wales, which was painted by this artift. j- Mr. * This gentleman, in his youthful days, bore a very high character, both as a compofer and finger. Many of his works are to be found in the collections of the curious in raulic ; they have great merit, but their fafhion is paft. For a volume of hisfongs, Mr. Hogarth engraved a front ifpiece, dated 1727. The portrait here mentioned was for a (hoft time expofed for fale at a broker's at Walworth, Surrey, 1799. There is a mezzotinto print from this picture, fcraped by Mr. Pettier. Mr. Leveridge died above 90 years of age. f The following anecdote may not be unentertaining to the Reader. The Prince was delirous of feeing the Lord Mayor's (how privately, for which pur- poll: he entered the city in difguife. At A necdotes of Pain ting. 1 5 Mr. Fryewas for fome time employed to fuperintend a manu- factory of ufeful and ornamental china, eftabliihed at Bow, but which has long fince been diflblved. p He died in 1763, about 52 years of age. Some of his prints are marked. See Appendix. J. H. MUNTZ Was an artift who refided fome time with the late Lord Orford, and was much employed by him in making drawings ; particu- larly views about his villa at Strawberry Hill. Whether he lhould be ranked as a painter, or a draughtfman it would be difficult to determine ; but in the Exhibition at Spring Garden, in 1762, he had a landfcape painted in en- caujlic, a procefs of which he feemed to have confidered him- felf the inventor ; for he publilhed a fmall oclavo volume*, At that time it was the cuftom for feveral of the city companies, particularly thofe who had no barges, to have ftands ere&ed in the ftreets through which the Lord Mayor pafied in his return from Weftminfter; in which the freemen of companies were accuftomed to affemble. It happened that His Royal Highnefs was difcovered by fome of the Saddlers Company; in confequence of which he was invited into their Hand, which invitation he accepted, and the parties were fo well pleafed with each other, that His Royal Highnefs, was foon after chofen Matter of the Company, a compliment which he alio accepted. * It was publilhed by Webley in Holborn, and dated 1760 ; dedicated to Robert Lord Edgecumbe. On the title-page is a fmall vignette, which appears to be an etching by the artift himfelf. in i6 Anecdotes of Painting. in which he demonftrated the operation, but it certainly < oes not deferve the attention of an artift. He exhibited again in 1763, which was the laft time. Whe- ther he was a foreigner or a native of this country, is unknown to the author. He married one of Lord Orford's female fer- vants, and foon after left his Lordfhip rather abruptly. Several of his drawings are in the collection at Strawberry Hill, but they do not exhibit much mattery in their execution. JOHN PARKER. Of this perfon little can be told, for little is known. He was an Englifh artift, who reiided for fome years at Rome, where he painted a picture which is in the church of St. Gregorio, at the Mons Celius ; the fubjeci, St. Silvie *. He returned to England about the year 1762, and was an exhibitor at the Society's rooms in the Strand, in 17O3, where he had two pictures. The fubject of the largeft was, the afTaffination of David Rizio, the other his own portrait ; but neither of thefe pictures had fufficient merit to make any lafting impremon upon the memory of the writer 0/ thefe anecdotes. He did not long furvive the period of his exhibiting, but died at Paddington, where his father had fome years refided: • In the Itineraire de Rome, by Cavaliere Jofeph Vafi, 1773, is the following notice : " St. Silvie au premier autel a droit eft de Jean Parker Anglois." This A necdotes of Pain tin 2. 1 7 This perfoD muft not be confounded with another . fame name, who was for fome time a ftudent in the Duke of Richmond's gallery, and received fome inftructions from the Smiths of Chichefter : The latter artilt practifed as a landfcape painter, and was at Rome in 1774, but returned to England the year following. RUBEXSTEIX, or RIEBEX5TLIX. For the name is fpelt with thefe variations. He was a native either of Holland or of Germany, but refided in England feveral years. He chiefly painted draperies, fometimes por- traits in oil. In the catalogues of the firit and fecond Exhibi- tions his name is to be found as an exhibitor ; the fub; - the pictures are, dead game, and ftill-life. He was for fome years a member of the Academv in St. Martin's-Iane, but did not rank very high in his profeluon He died about the year 1763. J.S.C.5CHAAK. A portrait painter, v. ho refided fome years in CoIIcge-ftreet. Weftminfter, and was an exhibitor from the year - until 1 769. Of his abilities, nojnft eftimate can be formed. There is a print of the poet Churchill, fcraped in mezzotinto by Burford, from a portrait that was painted by this artilt ; but it is a very poor fpecimen of the powers both of the eneraver and painter: it is dated 1765. D i8 Anecdotes of Paiirfing. JARVIS SPENCER, A miniature painter of much celebrity, and lived about the middle of the laft century. He was originally a gentleman's fervant, but, having a natural turn to the purfuits of art, amufed himfelf with drawing. It happened that fome one of the family with whom he lived, fat for their portrait to a miniature painter, and when the work was completed, it was (hewn to him ; upon which he obferved, that he thought he could copy it. This hint was received with much furprize, but he was indulged with per- miffion to make the attempt, and his fuccefs was fuch, that he not only gave perfect fatisfaction, but alfo acquired the en- couragement and patronage of thofe he ferved, and, by their interelr, became a fafhionable painter of the day. In the Exhibition of 1762, there were two enamel pictures of Mr. Spencer's production ; but the author can by no means recollect their merits or defeats : he only knows that the artiit did not long furvive that period. He left a daughter, who mar- ried a perfon of the name of Lloyd : This gentleman furvived liis lady, and at his death, Mr. Spencer's remaining collection of neglected miniatures, unfinimed performances, together with his painting materials, were fold by auction by Hutchins, AVells, and Fifcher, in King-ftreet, Co vent- garden, in December 1797. In the fale there was a three-quarter portrait of Spencer, which was painted by Sir Jofhua Reynolds, foon after his return from Italy. In this portrait the artift is reprefented in the *r-f fiartn/?-,,,,,n .'rr SCfiL Anecdotes of Fainting. 33 MRS. GRACE, A lady who for feveral years exhibited with the Society of Artifts. The fubjecls of her pencil were chiefly portraits in oil colours, but of their merits the author can recollect little ; he only remembers that they were heavy in their colouring. She fometimes attempted hiftory, as in the year 1767, when the fub- ject of her piclure was, Antigonus, Seleucus, and Stratonice. She lived feveral years in Throgmorton-ftreet, but afterwards removed to Devonfhire-fquare, Bifliopfgate-ftreet. She ceafed to exhibit in 1769, that being the laft year in which her name appears in the Exhibition Catalogues. One of her exhibition pictures was defcribed in the Catalogue, as Mr. Grace's portrait, by which circumftance it may be prefumed fhe was a married lady. FRANCIS COTES, R.A. This gentleman has been already noticed by Mr. Walpole *, but in fo flight a manner, that it cannot be improper to repeat his name, if it be on no other account, than to commemorate the circumftance of his being one of thofe artifts, to whom the Royal Academy owes its foundation, as he and three other gentlemen were the only perfons, who fignecl the petition, pre- sented to his Majefty, to folicit that eftablifhment. * See Mr. Walpole's o&avo edition, page 127, vol. iv. F Mr. 34 Anecdotes of Tainting. Mr. Cotes's father was an apothecary of great refpectability, who lived long in Cork-ftreet, Burlington-gardens, and the fon was the pupil of Mr. Knapton, but in the fequel much excelled his mafter. He was particularly eminent for his portraits in crayons, in which branch of the art he furpaffed all his pre- deceffors, though, it muft be confefTed, that he owed fome- thing of his excellence to the ftudy of the portraits of Rofalba. He alfo painted with confiderable ability in oil colours ; and, if Mr. Hogarth's opinion could be confidered as oracular, excelled Reynolds as a portrait painter *. But though his portraits in oil were by no means fo mailer! y as thofe of his rival, yet they were very pleafing, and well fmifhed, coloured with great fpirit, and, by the aid of Mr. Toms's draperies, were defervedly ranked with the beft portraits of the time. Mr. Cotes w r as in very confiderable practice as a painter in oil, but his chief excellence, as before obferved, was in crayons, which were greatly improved under his hands, both in their preparation and application. Mr. Walpole has already given a lift of fome of his principal portraits in crayons, to which may be added, the whole-length of her Majefty, with the Princefs Royal in her lap, that he painted in oil, about the year 1767, from which the print was engraved by Wm. W, Ryland. * The author had the pleafure of being acquainted with Mr. Hogarth a few months before his death ; and, in converfation, he made the above aflertion, for which it is difficult to account, as Sir Jofhua had then produced fome of his belt portraits. He Anecdotes of Painting. 35 He was very early in life afflicted with the flone, and, before he attained the age of forty-five, he fell a victim to that dif- eafe. He died at his houfe in Cavendifh-fquare, July 20, 1770, and was buried at Richmond, Surrey. Mr. Cotes's prices were twenty guineas for a three-quarter, forty for a half-length, and eighty for a whole length. Mr. Toms painted moft of his draperies. His younger brother, Mr. Samuel Cotes, painted miniatures both in enamel and water colours, and was in great practice during the life of the elder, but quitted the art fome years ago. He painted a large miniature of his brother by memory after his death, which is a good likenefs, and the only portrait of that artift now remaining. WILLIAM ROTH Painted portraits in oil, and alfo in miniature. He was an ex- hibitor with the Chartered Society in the year 1768, when the fubjeit of his picture was a girl looking at herfelf in a glafs, of which the author remembers little more than its being painted in a very heavy and unpleafant manner, and that it afforded a ftrong proof of the weaknefs of attempting, by a capricious fubje6t, to acquire that praife which is due only to the fuperior powers of art. About the year 17 70, Mr. Roth was for fome time at Reading, and in the neighbouring country, where he painted feveral portraits. 36 Anecdotes of Fainting. STOPPELEAR, A portrait painter, and one of thofe who might be confi- dered as an itinerant artiii. He was an exhibitor in the years 17&1 and 1762, about which time he vifited Norfolk. He had a brother who was well known upon the ftage of Drury-lane, where he for feveral years fupported the inferior but ufeful characters of the drama, fuch as the Grave-digger in Hamlet, and Ben Budge in the Beggar's Opera, which lad occafioned the following whimfical event : He was accuftomed to pafs part of his fummer vacations at "Wind for, to which place as he was once travelling in the ftage, a man, well mounted, rode up to the coach-door, and furveying the paffengers, re- peated the following quotation : " Pr'ythee, Mat, what is be- " come of thy brother Tom ? I have not feen him fince my " return from tranfportation j" and then, without farther queftion, turned his horfe's head and rode off, to the great joy of the travellers. Of the comparative merits of the two bro- thers in their different profeffions, no correct eftimate can be made, for the abilities of the player are forgotten, and the works of the artift do not poffefs any fnperiority that can diftinguifh them from the multitude of thofe common-place portraits, which are daily produced to preferve a face, but are rarely noticed beyond the third generation. The aftor was living in 1770, and the artift exhibited again in 1771, which period he did not long furvive. The author has lately been informed by Mr. Richards, of the Royal Academy, that the aclor had alfo pra&ifed portrait painting. Anecdotes of Painting. 37 JOHN BAKER, R. A. A painter of flowers, was chiefly employed in ornamenting coaches, have been regularly bred a coach-painter, under the fame matter to whom Mr. Catton was apprenticed. At the foundation of the Royal Academy, Baker was chofen one of the members, but did not long enjoy that honour, for he died in the year 1 77 1 . The influence of fafhion, over the conveniencies and comforts of life, has in no article been more arbitrary and capricious, than in the decorations of the coaches and chariots of our nobility and gentry. Since the days of Queen Elizabeth, thofe vehicles have been improved to a de- gree of comfort and elegance, which the greatelt admirers of antiquity will not wifli to fee reduced to their primitive fimpli- city; but while the improvements have been regular and pro. greflive, their ornamental decorations have been various and changeable. At the commencement of the laft century, the pannels of coaches were painted with hiftorical fubjefts, which were often but little fuited to the character or profeflion of the owners. To this circumfiance the poet Gay alludes * in his little poem of Trivia or the Art of Walking the Streets. After this fafhion ceafed, the pannels were painted fimply with the arms and fupporters difplayed upon a large mantle, but in a few years, the mantle was laid afide, and a more fanciful fhew of flowers, intermixed with ornaments, and fometimes genii, * The tricking gamefter infolently rides, With loves and graces by his chariot fides. Book lft, verfe 58. were jS Anecdotes of Painting. were the attendants of the family honours, and frequently a wreath or bunch of various flowers, unincumbered with any other representation than the arms in the centre. It was in this laft mode of decoration that Baker was confidered as pre-emi- nent, particularly by thofe who laboured in the fame vocation ; and it rauft be allowed, that his productions had confiderable merit, although they were too much marked by that fharpnefs of touch, which is peculiar to all thofe who have been bred coach- painters. A good picture of his hand is to be feen in the Council Room of the Royal Academy. Mr. Baker's widow furvived to 1804. EXSHAW, A native of Dublin, was for fome time at Rome, but did not acquire much power as a painter by vifiting that city. He came to London about the year 1758, when he publifhed a pompous advertisement, announcing the eftabliihment of an academy for drawing in the manner of the Caracci, and he opened Something of the kind at his lodgings in Maiden-lane, , Covent-garden ; but his abilities proved by no means equal to the tafk he had undertaken : he acquired but two pupils, and thofe foon quitted him. When the Society for the En- couragement of Arts, &,c. offered a premium for hiftorical painting he became a candidate, but was not fuccefsful. The fubject of his picture was, Edward the Black Prince entertaining the French Monarch, when a prifoner, after the battle of Creffy. He Anecdotes of Fainting. 39 He died in, the beginning of the year 1771, and his kw re- maining drawings, pictures, &c. were fold by auclion, at a great room in Exeter Change, in the month of April following. SHAW Was a painter of animals, chiefly horfes, a line of art which ge- nerally meets with encouragement from thofe, whofe chief plea- fures are in the fports of the field. In the Catalogue of the firft Exhibition, his name Hands as an exhibitor, " A picture of Horfes." He lived feveral years in Mortimer-ftreet, Cavendifh- iquare, where he built a large painting room, with conveniences to receive the animals, from which he painted. He died about the year 1772. WESTFIELD WEBB, A painter of portraits, who refided chiefly in St. Martin's-lane. In the Exhibition of 1762, there was a whole-length portrait of Mifs Brent, a celebrated finger of that time, painted by this artift. He continued to exhibit until the year 1772, about which time he died. His works are various in their fubjecls, fometimes landfcapes, at other times flowers, but in neither did he difcover much of the mailer ; and his portraits are of that rank, which feldom long furvive their originals. 40 Anecdotes of Tainthi i at PETER FALCONET, A native of Paris, and fon of Falconet the fculptor, who exe- cuted the equeitrian figure of Peter the Great at Peterfburg. He was for fome years in London, and obtained confiderable employment. His name ftands in the catalogues of the Exhi- bitions from 1767 to 1773, foon after which he returned to Paris. He practifed fometimes in hiftory, at other times por- traits, and alfo painted ornaments; of the latter, he left a fpeci- men, in a Chinefe temple at Wreft *, in Bedfordshire. On his firit arrival in London, he drew the profile portraits of twelve of the principal En glim artifts, in black lead, with a flight tint of colour on the cheeks and draperies. They were after- wards engraved in the dotted manner by Parifet, and publifhed by Ryland, whofe portrait is one of the fet ; they are in circles, with flight borders, of the octavo fize. He alfo drew the por- trait of the Rev. Mr. Granger, which ftands at the front of his Biographical Dictionary. In 1766, he obtained a premium for painting in chiaro of euro, twenty guineas; and again, in 1768, he obtained, for an hifto- rical picture, twenty-fix guineas : in this laft work, it was evi- dent, that the extravagant and outre manner of Monfieur Piere, who at that time was the fafhionable hiftorical painter at Paris, had tainted the mind of young Falconet, as it alfo corrupted the tafte of all the ftudents then in the French Academy. * Wreft, the feat of the then Marchiouefs de Grey, now in the pofiefiion of her eldeft daughter, Baronefs Lucas, in her own right, the widow of Lord Polworth. - : :: ::: .i? ■ • . - : - -_: - -_-_ -■ — ? ;.vr :. : - .l . ." ~ _" ".". ? *-* \_- . ,£ ■' t 5 . . -£.:-—. - J 1 ^.--"-.; F' ? .'. -' :; • J _ J. 42 Anecdotes of Painting. merit, but they pofTeiTed all the clinquant of the Pariiian fchool : the latter was left in England, and was fome years afterwards expofed in an au6tion-room, under the name of Le Seur, but as like Le Seur as Olivier was to Hercules \ This artilt did not (lay long in England, for his works were not received with the applaufe, to which he thought them en- titled. He was living in 1783, as appears from the " Eflai d'un Tableau Hiltorique des Peintres de l'Ecole Francoife," publimed in that year at Paris, in which he is faid to have refided long in Spain, and to have executed feveral works in that country. EDWARD FRANCIS CALZE, A native of the ftate of Lucca, who was introduced into Eng- land, and much patronifed by the fecond Lord Lyttleton. Calze painted in crayons, but with no great powers. His pro- fligacy and want of principle obliged him to leave England, but not before he had ill-treated his patron, who compelled him to atone for his improper conduct in one of the courts of "Weft- minfter Hall. Soon after this tranfaelion, Calze quitted Lon- don, and went to Pruffia, where he was for fometime employed by the court, but his behaviour there was alfo fo improper, that he was forced to retire from Berlin. "While he was in London, he was an exhibitor at the Royal Academy, from the year 1770 to 1773, about which time he returned to the Continent. There Lewis Francis RorBiix-v Anecdotes of Painting. 4. There are fome prints after pictures which he painted, one, in particular, is the portrait of Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, (now Vifcount Hood) engraved by Albanefi in 1782. ADRIAN CARPENTIERS, A foreigner, but whether a native of France or Switzerland, is not known. One of his belt performances was a half-length of Mr. Roubilliac the fculptor, from which there is a very good mezzotinto, fcraped by Mr. David Martin, and which is an excellent likenefs. In the latter part of his life, he refided at Pimlico, where he died, though, at what time can only be guefled by his ceafing to exhibit, the laft year being in 1774, when he was far ad- vanced in years. BERNARD DOWNES Was a portrait painter, who refided in London, and occafionalfy vifited different parts of the country. His name ftands in the fecond Exhibition Catalogue, and is continued till the year 1775, when he ceafed to exhibit. He did not long furvive. His abilities as an artift were not very confiderable, and hi? portraits are not entitled to diftin&ion. G 2 44 Anecdotes of Painting. JOSHUA KIRBY Refided in the early part of his life at Ipfwich, in Suffolk, where he pra6tifed as a coach and houfe-painter, and where he formed a lafting friendfhip with Mr. Gainfborough. Having a turn to mathematical inquiries, he ftudied Pet- fpective, in which he acquired fo much fkill, as enabled him to produce and publifh a treatife on that fcience. This work he dedicated to Mr. Hogarth, from whom he ob- tained a defign for the frontifpiece. This work introduced him to the acquaintance of moft of the artifts of that time. He alfo obtained the notice of Mr. Chambers *, by whofe recommend- ation he had the honour of inftni6ting his prefent Majefty (then Prince of Wales) in the fcience of Perfpeclive. He alfo pra<5tifed as a landfcape painter, and exhibited feveral pictures, views of different places; but his powers in this line of art were not very forcible, though he polTeffed fufficient ability to teach drawing, and had many fcholars. When the Chartered Society of artifts was diflurbed by the illiberal conduct of a party of factious members, Mr. Kirby was, by the mal-contents, elected Prefident in the place of Mr. Hayman. This fituation his vanity tempted him te accept, though his rank as an artifl did by no means entitle him to fo honourable a diflinftion, and it would have been prudent in him to have declined it : He however foon refigned the chair, to * Afterwards Sir Wm. Chambers. which Anecdotes of Painting. 45 which he had been improperly elevated, for the conduct of the party, by whom he was elected, was too refractory, to make his flay either pleafant or honourable to himfelf. Soon after the acceffion of his Majefly to the throne, he was appointed Clerk of the Works at Kew, where he refided till his death, which happened on the 10th of June 1774 *. Mr. Kirby was author of the following works : 1. Dr. Brook Taylor's Method of Perfpeclive made Eafy, &c. Quarto, 1754 f. 2. Dr. Brook Taylor's Method of Perfpeclive, compared with the Examples lately published on this Subject, as Sirigatti's. * Mr. Kirby had afon and daughter; the former ftudied painting, and vifited Rome, but died before his father, foon after his return to England. The latter (now a widow) married Mr. Trimmer of Brentford, and has acquired confider- able fame by her pious publications, which are well calculated to inculcate the principles of religion upon the minds of young perfons. f Before he publifhed this work, the following advertifement appeared in the public Papers: Academy of Painting and Sculpture, St. Martin's-lane, Jan. 24, 1754. Mr. Kirby, author of a work, entitled, Dr. Brook Taylor's Method of Per- fpeftive made Eafy, &c. has read three lectures, (being the fubftance of his in- tended work) to the gentlemen of this Society, which appeared to them fo clear, fimple, and extenfive, that, in order to do juftice to fo excellent a performance, they have unanimoufly given this their public approbation, and declare the in- genious author an honorary member of their body. By Order, &c. F. M Newton, Sec. By 46 Anecdotes of Painting. By Ifaac Ware, Efq. &c. London, printed for the Author, and fold by R. and J. Doddey, Pall-Mali, &c. No date. 3. The Perfpe&ive of Architecture, deduced from the Principles of Dr. Brook Taylor. Folio, 1761. Of thefe works, the lirft is unqueftionably the beft; it is di- vided into two books. In the former he has fuccefsfully ex- plained and illuftrated, by fuitable examples, Dr. Taylor's theory of the planes. In the latter book, he has given the practice both in the parallel and inclined fituation to the picture. The fecond publication was in confequence of a paragraph which appeared in the Public Advertifer of March 14, 1755, of which the following is a copy : " The beft author that ever " treated on Perfpective, is now tranflating, from the Italian " language into Englifh, and the examples will be drawn, en- " graved, and the whole together publifhed by John Ware, " Efq. which work, when completed, will undoubtedly be the " moft ufeful of its kind, and its rules, although elegant, are " the fimpleft, and therefore eafier to be underftood than any " hitherto publifhed in the Englifh language." The foregoing advertifement was fo frivolous in the purpofe for which it was intended, and fo falfe in the affertion, concern- ing the merits of Sirigatti's work, that Mr. Kirby would have acted a wiferpart, had he fuffered it to pafs unnoticed, efpecially as it appeared under a wrong name, John being fubftituted for Ifaac, which laft was the Chriftian name of Mr. Ware. His laft publication, though not the moft fcientific, is the moft fplendid of his productions. The expence of the plates was paid Anecdotes of Painting. 47 paid by his Majefty, as he acknowledges in the preface, and they are in general very finely engraved ; yet it is curious to obferve that they contain no example of architectural features difpofed obliquely to the picture, a circumftance from which it may be ftrongly fufpected, that Mr. Kirby was no great adept in architecture, and that his practice in perfpective was not very comprehenfive ; efpecially as his firft work is equally deficient with the laft, in what relates to mouldings, when inclined to the picture, which pofition, if not the moil abftrufe in theory, is yet among the moll troublefome in operation, and therefore ought to have been demonft rated. CAPT. WARD Was fome time in the Eaft Indies, in the fervice of the Company. He came to England, and, during his (lay, painted land- scapes, and local views. In the Exhibitions of the Society of Artifts in 1772 and 1773, there were feveral pictures of Indian edifices by him. There are alfo feveral of his hand, at the Company's Houfe in Leadenhall-ftreet. After a few years refidence in London, he married a young lady, and returned to the Eaft Indies, in the year 1774, having obtained a decent military appointment. He was a native of England, but whether regularly educated as an artift is not known. During his refidence in London, he was for a fhort time Secretary to the Chartered Society of Artifls. 48 Anecdotes of Tainting. RICHARD WRIGHT, A native of Liverpool, who pra&ifed as a painter of fea-pieces, and acquired his art by his own induftry, having been bred to the humble department of a houfe and fliip-painter. In 1764, the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. offered a premium to the perfon who mould produce the bed piclure of a fea-view, being his own production, when Mr # Wright became a candidate, and obtained the firit prize, thirty guineas. In the years 1766, and 1768, he again became a candidate, under the fame clafs of premiums, and each year obtained the firft prize, fifty guineas. In the firft of thefe pictures, Mr. Wright paid a compliment to the Society, by introducing an allufion to their encourage- ment of the fcheme, for fupplying the metropolis with fith, by the means of land-carriage *. Some time before his death, he made an exhibition of his own pictures at York, during the race-week, but the fcheme did nor anfwer his expectations, and the chagrin, occafioned * Mr. Woollet engraved a moll excellent print, after this picture, which is well known by the title of The Fifhery. It is to be obferved, that this print was copied in Prance, of the exacl fize, and with fuch accuracy, that it is fcarcely to be diftinguiflied from the original. There is alfo a fmaller copy, about twelve inches long, well executed, in which the vanity of the Frenchman is glaringly conspicuous, the name of Vernet being fubftituted for that of Mr. Wright. by Anecdotes of Painting. 49 by his disappointment, added to a violent cold that he caught about the fame time, hurried him to his grave before the year J 775- Another circumftance contributed much to haften his death, which was the lofs of his fon, a very promifmg and well- behaved youth, who painted in the fame line with the father, but died when about twenty years of age. His wife and daughters were alfo practitioners in the art ; they painted ftill-life and fruit pieces, and were feveral times exhibitors. Mr. Wright was of rough manners and warm temper, which led him to take an active lead among the difcontented party of the Chartered Society of Artifts, in which he acted with great impropriety and imprudence, and, with one or two more of the members, was chiefly inftrumental in overturning that Society. HANNAN. A native of Scotland, was put apprentice to a cabinet-maker. His great inclination to painting led him to make attempts, which were fufficiently fuccefsful to induce his matter to encour- age him to proceed, efpecially as he got more by this apparent indulgence, than if he had confined Hannan to the bench. On quitting his matter, he was taken under the protection of Lord Le Defpenfer, who employed him. in decorating his houfe at Weft Wycombe, Bucks, where he painted feveral ceilings, after the drawings preferved in Eton College Library, and alfo H one 5 © A necdotes of Pain ting. one from the defign of Cipriani. But Hannan was inclined to think this patronage not of very folid advantage to him, as he was thereby obliged to relinquish an offer, which Lord Bath and others had made, to fend him to Italy upon their penfion. Hannan was a man of excellent character, but it muft be con- felfed that he did not rank very high in art. His productions were moftly copies, yet it mould be remembered to his honour, that his drawings of views, in the gardens at Weft Wycombe, were among thofe fubjefrs, from which Mr. Woollet made fome of his moft early engravings *. He died at Weft Wycombe, about the year 1775. His name appears in the Exhibition Catalogue of 1769, and for fome years afterwards. FRANCIS HAYMAN, R.A. Of this artift, who was much celebrated in his day, Mr. Walpole has taken fome notice in his ■f fourth and laft vo- lume ; but as that account is very fhort and defective, in many circumftances relative to his life, the reader will not be dif- pleafed with the following additional anecdotes, which were probably unknown to the honourable Biographer. He was born in or near Exeter, and was the fcholar of Brown, who is alfo mentioned by the fame writer. * Thefe prints were publiftied in 1757. t See page 4.8, 4th volume, odayo edition. In Anecdotes of Painting. 51 la the early part of his life, he was much employed by Fleet- wood, the proprietor of Drury-lane old theatre, for whom he painted many fcenes. In the purfuit of his profeffion, he was not extremely afliduous, being more convivial than ltudious, yet he acquired a very conderable degree of power in his art, and was un- queftionably the belt hiftorical painter in the kingdom, before the arrival of Cipriani. It was this fuperiority of talent, that introduced him to the notice of Mr. Jonathan Tiers, the founder and proprietor of Yauxhall, by whom he was much employed in decorating the gardens of that place, where many of his pictures rtill remain ; particularly thofe four, which are in the great room *, representing different events in the fuccefsful war of 1756, and which poffefs a confiderable degree of merit ; although it muft be acknowledged, that their colouring is not fo vigorous as might be wifhed, and that the drawing is not wholly diverted of manner. Mr. Walpole fays, that the afore- mentioned works recommended him to much practice in making defigns for books ; the truth is, that his reputation as an artift was at that time very confiderable, and this circumitance led the bookfellers to employ him much in making drawings for the prints, with which they chofe to decorate their publica- tions. * He had already painted four pictures for the Prince of W"ales's Pavilion, erected in thofe gardens ; the fubjects were taken from Shakelpear ; So much were thefe pictures efteemed by Mr. Tiers, that he had copies taken from them, to fupply their intended lituatioDS, and removed the originals to his own rendence. h 2 Among 52 A necdotes of Tain ting. Among thofe productions, are the prints to More's Fables, a fine copy of which work, with his original drawings, bound up with the prints, was fold by MefTrs. Leigh and Sotheby, in the late Dr. Chauncey's fale of books, for the fum of ten guineas, and was bought by Mr. White, bookfeller, in Fleet-ftreet. It was a fecond time fold by the fame perfons, for eleven guineas, June 1795, and alfo a third time, when it was purchafed by Mr. Baker, of St. Paul's Church-yard *. The drawings have great merit, and are equal to any productions of his co- temporaries. When the artifts were incorporated by charter, Mr. Lambert was appointed the firfl Prefident, but he dying fhortly after, Mr. Hayman was chofen in his Head, in which office he remained till 1768, when, owing to the illiberal conduct of the majority of the members of that Society, he was no longer continued in that flation : For this exclufion he was amply recompenfed by the immediate foundation of the Royal Academy, of which he was chofen a member, and foon after appointed the Librarian. This place he held till his death, which happened on Fe- bruary 2d, 1776. He left an only daughter, with fome pro-, perty, but me did not furvive her father many years. Mr. Hayman had many pupils, among which the following two gentlemen only ihall be mentioned : * He alfo gave the defigns for Congreve's Plays, Newton's Milton, Hanmer's Shakefpear, and Smollett's Don Quixote; and, together with Mr. Blakey, he gave theJefigns for Mr. Pope's Works, and many frontifpieces for other publications. There is alfo a picture of his painting in the Foundling Hofpital, the fubjecl, the Finding of Mofes, which wasprefented by him to that charity. Anecdotes of Painting, 53 CHARLES CHAPMAN. His father was an eminent comedian, who, at one time, con- dueled the theatre at Richmond. The fon was for fome years employed at Vauxhall, but lofing his employment at that place, he funk into indigence, and died foon after the year 1770. SERTES. A gentleman of a good family in the county of Durham, who fludied for fome time in Italy, and returned to London about the year 1761. He fettled at Durham, where he married a lady of fortune, and neglected the art. He died about the year 1803. To thefe may be added, Mr. John Seaton, now living, and feveral others, who will be noticed in their proper places. PETER TOMS, R. A. Was fon of Mr. Toms the engraver, an artift of no great merit. The fon was a pupil to Mr. Hudfon, and might be con- fidered as a portrait painter, but his chief excellence was in painting draperies. In that branch of the art, fo ufeful to a fafhionable face painter, he was much employed, firft by Sir Jofhua 54 Anecdotes of Fainting. Jofhua Reynolds, and afterwards by Mr. Cotes : He alfo exe- cuted fome for Mr. Weft. Among the pictures which he did for Sir Jofhua, are fome very excellent ; and candour muft allow, that many of Sir Jolhua's beft whole-lengths are thofe, to which Toms painted the draperies: Among thefe was the picture of Lady Elizabeth Keppel, in the drefs flie wore as bride-maid to the Queen ; for which he was paid the fum of twelve guineas, a very (lender price in proportion to the merit of the piece, but Sir Jofliua was not remarkably liberal upon thefe occafions, of which circumftance Mr. Toms did not neglect to complain. At the time the late Duke of Northumberland went as Lord Lieutenant to Ireland, Mr. Toms went in his fuite to Dublin, in hopes of being employed as a portrait painter : Not meeting with the fuccefs he hoped for, he foon returned to London, where he again refumed his profeffion, and was almoft wholly employed by Mr. Cotes, but the death of that gentleman terminated the comforts of poor Toms. In confequence of this lofs he became melancholy, and fought relief in that medicine which diflipates, but for a fhort time, thofe reflections it cannot eradicate : He terminated his fufferings, by his own hand, about the latter end of the year 1776. His prints, drawings, and painting utenfils, were fold by Gerrard, the auctioneer, in January 1777. When the Royal Academy was founded, he was chofen one of the members: He had alfo an appointment in the Herald's College, being ftyled Port Culis Purfuivant. His Anecdotes of Painting. 55 His price for painting the draperies, hands, &c. of a whole- length portrait, was twenty guineas ; for a three-quarter, three guineas. NICOLAS THOMAS DALL, A. A native of Denmark, who fettled in London as a landfcape painter, and was chiefly employed at Covent-garden theatre, where he painted fome good fcenes. Being much engaged at the theatre, he had not leifure to paint many eafel pictures ; but in the year 1768, he obtained the firft premium of thirty guineas, that was given by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. for the beft landfcape painting. He was chofen an Aflbciate of the Royal Academy in 1771. He died of the gout, at his apartments in Great Newport- ftreet, in the fpring of 1777, leaving a widow and children, to whom the managers of the theatre very kindly gave a benefit the fame year, which, from the refpe&ability of the artift, was well attended. REV. MR. JAMES WILLS, Was a portrait-painter, who alfo painted fome hiftorical fubjecls, but not meeting with much fuccefs in bis profeffion, he quitted it, and, having received a liberal education, took orders. He was for feveral ^ears Curate of Cannons in Middlefex, and at the death of the former incumbent, Mr. Hallet generoufly gave 56 Anecdotes of Painting. gave him the living, which he enjoyed till his death. He died in the latter part of the year 1777. His name ftands in the firft Exhibition Catalogue to an hif- torical fubje6t, " Liberality and Modefty." He was alfo an exhibitor the following year, but his name is there infer ted without any clerical diftin<5tion, he therefore at that time had not taken orders. There is an academy figure, drawn by Mr. Wills, in the office of the Royal Academy, but it is very far from being either mafterly or correct. There is a mezzotinto print of the Rev. Mr. Jofeph Stendon, after a portrait painted by Mr. Wills. At the Foundling Hofpital is an hiftorical picture, the fub- jeft, " Young Children brought to Chrift," which was painted and prefented by him to that charity. In the year 1768, he was appointed chaplain to the Chartered Society of Artilis, with a falary of thirty pounds a year. He preached one fermon * at Covent-garden church, on St Luke's Day, in the fame year. This difcourfe was afterwards printed at the requeft of the So- ciety, but he did not long enjoy this appointment, in confe- quence of the difputes which broke out among the members of that body. In the early part of his life he made a tranflation of Frefnoy's Art of Painting, but it is dry and literal. This work was publifhed in quarto, 1754; and fome notice is taken of it by * The text of this fermon was taken from Job, chap, xxxvii. verfe 14. " Stand " ftill, and confider the wondrous works of God." Mr. Anecdotes of Painting. 57 Mr. Mafon, in the preface to his own tranflation of the fame author, publifhed by Dodfley, 1783. In clofing this account, it is but juftice to obferve, that Mr. Wills was a man of excellent character, though as a painter not qualified to acquire great eminence in his art. VINCENZO RUBBIGLIARD. A native of Italy. He came to England from Rome with Mr. Parry, in the year 1775. He painted a portrait of Tendiici, the celebrated finger, who, not being fatisfied with the performance, rejected the pic- ture. In confequence of this behaviour, the painter furrounded the head with the representations of a number of fketches, exhi- biting feveral ludicrous circumftances and accidents, that had befallen the poor caftrato in Italy, at different periods of his life, and then expofed the picture at a mop-window in the Hay- market. How the difpute terminated is not known. This artift, from difappointment, and the effecl; of climate, loft his health, fell into a deep confumption, and died in Lon- don about two or three years after his arrival. MARY DE VILLEBRUNE. This lady was an exhibitor at the Royal Academy in 1 771 and 1772. Her performances were portraits, both in oil and crayons, but her powers as an artift, were not fufficiently forcible to im- I prefs 58 Anecdotes of Painting. prefs the memory of the author with any recollection of her productions. The fame name Hands in the catalogue of the exhibition of the Royal Academy, in the year 1777, with the of addition De Noblet. In the catalogue of the year 1782, the name again appears as follows, De Villebrune. After this period the ceafed to exhibit. REMSDYKE. A native of Holland, who painted portraits, but with no great excellence. He was for fome time at Briftol, but his chief employment was in drawing natural hiftory and anatomy, in which l^ft- mentioned department he was much employed by Dr. William Hunter, and moft of the plates of the gravid uterus were engraved from his drawings. This artift was living in 1778, and it is not known when he died. He had a fon who followed the profeffion of the father, and obtained fome premiums from the Society for the Encourage- ment of Arts, &c. but his abilities as an artift were not very powerful. Thefe artifts, in conjunction, publifhed a volume of natural hiftory, which was drawn and etched from original objects in the Britilh Mufeum ; the title, Mufeum Britannicum, &c. by John and Andrew Remfdyke, folio, printed for Moore, Charles- ftreet, St. James's-fquare, 1778. '//( V//V/, i < //'/{// . Anecdotes of Painting. 59 ROBERT CRONE. A landfcape painter, who was born in Dublin *, but went early to Rome, where he ftudied fome time under Mr. Richard Wil- fon, who was then in that city. This perfon's progrefs in art, was greatly impeded by the melancholy ftate of his health, for, at the age of fifteen, he had an epileptic feizure, which materially injured his form : he had no return of this complaint until fifteen years afterwards, when in the Barbarini palace at Rome, he fell down in a fecond fit from a fcaffold, on which he was elevated, to copy a picture ; from this time, his fits continued at intervals, until the fatal one, which put a period to his exiftence. He died in London in the early part of the year 1779- He was of a remarkably good temper, and raoft excellent character. His pictures are not very numerous, but there are fome in the Royal Collection. He alfo executed many drawings in black and white chalks, upon a blue-grey Roman paper. JOHANNES EGIDIUS ECCARDTf. The name is thus written upon a print of the celebrated Margaret Woffington, the comedian, dated 1 745. * He was the pupil of a portrait painter in Dublin, of the name of Hunter, f John Giles Excardt, I 2 6o Anecdotes of Painting. He was a painter of fome reputation in London, about the time that Sir Jofhua Reynolds returned from Italy. He painted portraits, both in the large and fmall fizes. The Hon. Horace Walpole, (late Earl of Orford) in the year 1746 *, addrefled a little poem to him, called " The Beauties," in which the author complimented feveral of the young ladies of rank vvhofe youth and beauty graced the court of George the Second. At Strawberry-hill are feveral fmall whole-lengths, by the hand of this artift, which are clean and carefully painted, but have little of the mafter. The portrait of Gay, the poet, in Lord Orford's works, is from the picture painted by Exhardt. He retired from bufmefs, and refided fome years at Chelfea, where he died in 1779. Mr. Walpole, in his Anecdotes, favs, that he was a German, and the fcholar of J. B. Vanlo. JOHN HAMILTON MORTIMER, A. Was born at Eaftbourn, in Suffex. His father Mas the pro- prietor of a mill, and afterwards held a genteel poll in the Cuftoms. Young Mortimer difcovered great natural talents for painting. He was therefore placed under the tuition of Mr. Hudfon, whofe manners not being very conciliating, the pupil remained with him but a fhort time. Afterwards he went under * See Fugitive Pieces, page 28 Strawberry-hill, edit. 1758, where the name is fpelt Eckardt. the - — - ' I ■ ; ; : I ! M i : : ■ ' ■ — fTMffla Anecdotes of Painting. 61 the care of Mr. Pine, who was then confidered as one among the be ft colourifts of the age ; but he foon quitted that mafter, finding he was not likely to acquire much improvement from his inftruclion. About this time, the Duke of Richmond opened his gallery in Privy Garden, and Mr. Mortimer was among the firft of thofe who availed themfelves of the ad- vantages of that fchool. Soon after he was admitted a mem- ber of the private academy in St Martin's-lane. In thefe feminaries he acquired very confiderable knowledge of the human figure, which he drew in a ilyle fuperior to moil of his cotemporaries. When the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. firft offered premiums to youths, who ihould produce the bell drawings after the antique figures in the Duke of Richmond's gallery, and alfo from the life, Mr. Mortimer was among the earlieft candidates, and obtained feveral premiums with great applaufe. In 1763, when the fame refpeclable Society offered rewards to thofe, who ihould produce the bell hiftorical painting, our young artift became a candidate, and * obtained the fecond premium of fifty guineas, and the following year he again be- came a competitor, and obtained the firft, one hundred guineas. This picture had very confiderable merit, and, allowing for the youth of the artift, was an uncommon production. * The fubjecl of the firft pidure was, Edward the Confeflor ftripping his Mo- ther of her Eil'ects. The original (ketch for this picture was lately in the Collec- tion of Mr. Lambert of the Te.. pie. The fecond was, St. Paul preaching to the Britons. Although t ; j Anecdotes of Painting. Although he had given undoubted proofs of his abilities, yet he did not meet with much employment, which moil probably refill ted from his neglect of that department of the art, by which alone the painter can acquire fortune in this country, for he rather neglecied the ftudy of portraiture. In" truth, he feemed not over fond of that branch of painting, fo that fome of his productions of this kind were not fo pleafmg, as thofe of fome of his cotemporary artifts, who yet were much inferior to him in talent. Yet, it mould be obferved, that he drew many heads the fize of life, from feveral of his friends, which were executed in a very mafterly manner, in black and white chalk, upon ftained paper j but, in his painted portraits he failed in the colouring, which was too much of a clay-like hue. Far from imitating the conduct of Sir Jofhua, he did. not vary his procefs, in hopes of correcting his defects. The confequence was, that his large pictures wanted variety and brilliancy in their colouring. In the fpring of 1775, he married a lady, for whom he had long entertained an attachment, and, in the fummers of 1777 and 1778, refided for fome months at Aylefbury, where he painted a few portraits, particularly a picture of the family of the Drakes of Amerfham; the figures of which were fmall whole-lengths. Before his marriage he had been employed by Lord Melbourn, for whom he painted a ceiling at his Lord- fhip's feat, Brocket Hall, Herts, in which he was aflifted by Mr. \Y neatly, and Mr. Durno. The favourite fubjefts of Air. Mortimer's pencil, were the representations of Banditti, or of thofe tranfactions recorded in hiftory, Anecdotes of Painting. 63 hiftory, wherein the exertions of foldiers are principally em- ployed, as alfo incantations, the frolics of monfters, and all thofe kind of fcenes, that perfonify " Horrible Imaginings." He poffeffed great perfonal aftivity, and was fond of athletic fports, but imprudent in his eonducl, and intemperate in his pleafures, by which he injured his health. He was cut off by a premature death, when about forty years of age. He died at his houfe, Norfoik-flreet, in the Strand, Feb. 4, 1779, and was buried at Great Maffingham, Bucks, but was after- wards removed to the church of High Wycomb, where his remains were depofited near the altar, at which place his great picture, St. Paul preaching to the Britons, was placed by one of his particular friends, fome time before his death *. In reflecting on the life of this gentleman, it is not eafy to reflrain the tear of regret, which muft follow the conhderation, how fuch abilities were facrificed to the mean purfuit of inele- gant pleafures, and ignoble emulation. To be fuperior as a cricket-player, or to command on a loofe frolic, were to him " worth ambition." Owing to this neglect, his improvement in art was not equal to the jufi expectations and wifhes of his friends. His conduct was irregular, but it muit be admitted, in extenuation, that he was of very liberal fentiments and pleafant manners, generous, and ready to aflift thofe who fought his friendship ; in fliort, a character, which would have been highly reverenced, had it been regulated by fober reflection and manly prudence. * He was de&ed an Afibciate of the Royal Academy, November, 1778, but did not live to receive his diploma. Anions: O 64 Anecdotes of Fainting. Among liis works, the following pictures may be fele&ed, from mod of which there are prints : Sextus confulting Eri&ho, before the Battle of Pharfalia. Vide Lucan. An Incantation. King John figning Magna Charta. The Battle of Agincourt. Vortigern and Rowana*. He alfo made many drawings of capricious fubje&s, which were executed with the pen in brown ink. The following etchings are likewife of his hand, and were executed after his own defigns : Twelve heads from Shakefpear's theatrical Characters, among which, thofe of Caliban and Edgar have great merit, both in character and expreffion. A Set of Monfters, and other capricious fubjecls, dedicated to Sir Jofhua Reynolds. Many of thefe are in a very mafterly ftyle of execution, particularly the heads of the figures. A Frontifpiece to Mickels Tranflation of the Lufiad, not very good, 9 in. by 7 f . A Frontifpiece to Lloyd's Powers of the Pen, 9 in. f by 7, f. * In the cathedral of Salifbury, there is a large window of ftained glafs, the fubjeft, the Elevation of the Brazen Serpent in the Wildernefc, which was de- figned and drawn by Mr. Mortimer. It was painted by Mr. Pearfon, and pre- fented to the church by t^ie Earl of Radnor. There is alfo a window of ftained glafs, by Pearfon, at Brazen-Nofe College, Oxford, reprefenting Chrift and the four Evangelilts, the cartoons for which were drawn by Mr. Mortimer. i c A fatirical 3 I • Anecdotes of Painting. 65 A fatirical Print upon the late Dutchefs of Kingftcaa ; the title, Iphigenla's late Proceffion from Kingflon to Briilo!, by Chud- leigh Meadows, 15 in. by 12 \. To thefe may be added, a copy from a Holy Family by Guercino, executed for Mr. Boydell, 1 1 in. \ by 9 L.. He alfo made feveral defigns for Bell's Poets and Theatres, and for other publications. Mr. Mortimer marked many of his etchings, but it is uncer- tain how he diftinguiihed his pictures *. After his death, a great many etchings were made from his remaining (ketches, by a perfon of the name of Blyth, but thofe productions do not contribute to the fame of Mr. Mor- timer. AUGUSTINE BRUNIAS. An Italian, who painted decorative fubjects for pannels and ceilings, both in colours and chiaro ofimro. After fome ftay in Ixmdon, he went to the Weft Indies, and refided chiefly at Dominica. In the exhibitions of the Royal Academy in the years 1777 and 1779, were pictures by this artift, fomc of which were views in the ifland, and others reprefenting the amufements of the negroes at that place. From the latter fubjects, there are * See marks in Appendix. There are two portraits of Mr. Mortimer, one a mezzotinto, from a pidrure painted by himfelf, and fcraped by V. Green, 1779; the other an etching, by Blyth, 1782. K prints, 66 Anecdotes of Painting. prints, engraved in the dotted manner, fome of which are by his own hand. FRANCIS SMITH. An Italian, who painted landfcape and fmall domeftic fub- jefts. He was much connected with the late Lord Baltimore, and travelled with him to the Eaft, where he drew feveral views, one of which, a view of Conftantinople, was in the exhibition of the Royal Academy in 1 7 70. He again exhibited in 1772, when the fubje&s of his pencil were views on the Thames. As he had attended in the fuite of fome perfons who were introduced to the Turkifh court, he was enabled to rep re fen t fome of the ceremonies of the Seraglio ; and there are prints, which are faid to be very faithful repre- fentations of the manner, in which the Grand Signior gives audience to Grangers of rank, and alfo of the ceremonies con- fequent to their introduction to the Grand Vizier ; together with a collection of drefTes of the fervants of the Ottoman court ; which prints were engraved by Pranker, Vitalba, and others, from drawings in the collection of Lord Baltimore, that were executed for him, by Mr. Smith. This artift died in London, though at what time is not exaclly known, but before the year 1780. Anecdotes of Painting. 67 JOHN COLLETT. The fon of a gentleman, who pofTefled a genteel appointment in one of the public offices. He was the pupil of Mr. Lam- bert, and painted in a variety of ways ; but the favourite fub- jecls of his pencil were pieces of humour, fomewhat in imita- tion of Hogarth, Iefs fatirical than narrative, more ludicrous than witty, and oftentimes difpleafmg, without conveying any moral instruction. Of the latter, is the print entitled the Female Bruifers, engraved by Goldar, after one of his pictures, in which two proftitutes, one of them fplendidly dreffed, are represented as boxing, furrounded by a mob. He was an exhibitor at the Society's Room in the Strand, in the year 1762. There are many prints engraved after his pictures, by Mr. Goldar, the fubjefts of which are all of a humourous kind, although the artift himfelf was confidered by his friends as a man of grave manners and converfation. There is alfo a drawing-book that was publimed by Mr. Sayer, of Fleet-ftreet, which, among other fubje&s, contains fome Academy figures, engraved after the defigns of Mr. Collett, but they are not well adapted to the purpofe of initiating youth in the principles of defign. Mr. Collett, who pofiefied an independent fortune, and maintained a very refpedlable character, lived long at Chelfea, where he died fome time in the year 1 780. In the Addenda of Mr. Walpole's Iaft or fourth volume of Anecdotes, mention is made of an artift of the name of John k 2 Collett, 68 Anecdotes of Painting. Collett, who died at Chelfea, January 17, 1771, but this muft either have been another perfon, or a miftake of the honour- able author *. WILLIAM THOMSON. A native of Dublin, who practifed in London as a portrait painter, and lived feveral years in Warwick-court, Holborn. His name ftands in the catalogues of the exhibitions, from 1761 to 1777. Though a man of education, with fpecious addrefs and de- portment, yet his talents as an artift were but feeble, and not giving much fatisfaetion to his employers, he relinquished his profemon, and contented himfelf with the fortune he poflerTed by his wife's annuity, and, at her death, married a fecond wife t, who had alio the means to maintain him. Yet, in fpite of thefe prudential matches, he could not keep clear of con- finement, once in the King's-bench, and afterwards in New- gate. While in the former of thefe Situations, he was one of the principals of a party then under confinement for debt, who infifted upon being releafed, fuch punilhment not being (as they aflcrted)- either allowed by ftricl law, or coniillent with the Britilh conllitution. This circumflance made fome ftir among the gentlemen of the law, at the time it was agitated, about the year 1770. * See oclavo edition. f His fecond wife was a widow, wlio kept a confiderablc board ing-fchool at Brompton, where Thomfon taught drawing, but this female feminary did not flourifh under their conduct. He Anecdotes of Fainting. 69 He was for fome time Secretary to the Chartered Society of Artifts ; and when a debating club was inilituted at Mrs. Corneille's *, in Soho-fqnare, Thorn fon was appointed the chair- man, or moderator, in which office he acquitted himfelf with fuccefs. As this gentleman ceafed to practice his profeffion about the year 1780, it cannot be improper to introduce his name in this * This lady was a foreigner, or rather a native of Ireland, who might be confi- dered as an aventuriere,whofe principal purfuit was to acquire a fortune — quocunquc modo. To accomplilh this purpofe, (he engaged the premifes, which had been the manfion and offices of the Earl of Carlifle, iituate on the fouth-eaft corner of Sut- ton-ftreet, Soho-fquare, called Carlifle-houfe. The apartments were fitted up under her own diredion, with all the frivolity of tafte, and gaudinefs of (hew, peculiar to the modern Italian theatres. This place fhe opened as gala rooms, or place of auembly ; and the fcandalous chronicles of the day afferted, that (he took care to provide every fpecies of gallant accommodation. — The fafliion of this place lafted but for a (hort time. She next attempted to eftablifli an Italian opera ; but this fcheme not being perfectly legal, the magiftrates inter- fered, and her project was defeated.— By the failure of all her fchemes, (he was overwhelmed with debt, and her extenlive premifes fell into the hands of her creditors, who endeavoured to convert them to fome profitable purpofe for their own benefit, and they inftitutcd an evening promenade, with lea and coffee ; and alfo a debating fociety, to which ladies as well as gentlemen were admitted. It was upon this occafion that Thomfon was employed as chairman, or moderator ; and it mud be confeffed, that however imperfed his abilities might be as a painter, yet his confidence and manner rendered him competent to the appointment. The fchemes of the creditors were as unfuccefsfnl as thofe of the debtor. The premifes were at laft pulled down f, and the prefent row of houfes, together with St. Patrick's chapel, were built upon the fpot +, where this Emprefs of Tafte (for fo (he ftiled herfelf) had endeavoured to eftablilh a feminary of intrigue and diffipation. f In the year 1781. + About the year 1790. place, -o Anecdotes of Painting. place, though he furvived to the early part of the year 1800, when he died fuddenly. There are two mezzotinto prints after pictures painted by Mr. Thomfon: The firft to be noticed, is a profile of Mr. James Stephens, who published the following work : " Confiderations on Imprifonment for Debt." It was pub- lished by Thomfon, in "Warwick-court, 177 1 . Stephens was confined in the King's-bench, at the fame time with Thomfon, and was the principal infligator of the difpute relative to imprifonment for debt. The fecond print is after a half-length portrait of Cadwalla- der, Lord Blaney, in the paraphernalia of grand mafter of the free mafons. HERBERT PUGH. A native of Ireland, who painted landfcape, came to England about 1758. His powers in art were not very confiderable, and his ftyle of painting mannered and affected. There is a large land- fcape by him in the committee-room of the Lock-hofpital, Grofvenor-place, and there are two pictures of his hand in the colleftion of Geo. Bowles, Efq. of Wanfted, in Effex. He alfo painted two or three pictures, in a manner which he called an imitation of Hogarth, which are nothing but mean reprefenta- tions of vulgar debauchery. From thefe pictures there are 14 prints J9-umcima/n uw.rfov? Anecdotes of 'Painting. "J t prints engraved by Goldar, but they are as indifferent in exe- cution as the originals were in defign. He died fome time between the years 1770 and 1780, having haftened his death by intemperance. ALEXANDER RUNCIMAN. A native of Scotland, feveral of whofe pictures appeared in the exhibitions of the Royal Academy, the firft time in 1772. He then lodged at Mrs. Hogarth's, in Leicefter-fquare. The next year he fettled at Edinburgh, where he conducted the Academy of Arts, eftablimed in that city. He chiefly painted hiftory ; and, as the author believes, was for fome time at Rome, but of his works he has an imperfect recollection. Thofe, however, which remain, have been much praifed by his countrymen. At the Epifcopal church there is an altar-piece, painted by Runciman, the fubje6t is The Afcenfion. There are alfo feveral of his works at a feat not far diftant from that city, called the Hall of Fingal, or Pennycuick, the feat of Sir Charles Clark, Bart. At what time he died is not exactly known, but it was about the year 1780. He was fuc- ceeded in the maflerfhip of the Academy by his countryman, Mr. David Allen, who will be mentioned hereafter. There are fome etchings by Mr. Runciman, of which the author has only feen the two following : Sigifmunda weeping over the Heart of Tancred. Size of the plate, 5 in. J by 3 in. |. A View 79 Anecdotes ofVn'inting. A View in Edinburgh ; the Netherbow Port. Size of the plate, 8 in. | by 6 in. |. The firft of thefe is not very mafterly, but the fecond is executed with great fpirit and tafte. GEORGE ROGERS, Esq. A gentleman who painted for his amufement. He was a refi- dent of the Ifle of Wight, and married a daughter of Mr. Jonathan Tyers, the proprietor of Vauxhall Gardens. His pictures, which were landfcapes, poffeffed a confiderable degree of merit. He was an exhibitor at the Spring-garden room, in the years 1 761 and 1762. He died between the years 1780 and 1790. GAETANO MANINI, Commonly called Cavalier Manini, by birth a Milanefe. He was a painter of hiflory, but one of the loweft of the modern Italian fchool. His compofitions were extremely frivolous, and his colouring gaudy. He poffeffed the knack of the improvifatori, which he exerted with tolerable fuccefs, whenever he chofe to oblige thofe, who requefted a fpecimen of his impromptu metrical powers. He died between the years 1780 and 1790. He was an exhibitor with the Chartered Society of Artifts, in the year 1775. Anecdotes of Painting. 73 C. CLERISSEAU. This artift was born in Paris, and was brought to England by Robert Adams the architect. He refided fome time in Great Marlborough-ftreet; but when the affairs of his patron became deranged, he was obliged* to quit London and return to Paris. Cleriffeau's practice was in drawings of architecture * and ruins, in which he was pre-eminent. He ftudied long at Rome, and refided there at the fame time with Sir William Chambers and Mr. Wilton. This artift's produ6lions were chiefly in water colours. He was remarkable for his expedition and facility of execution, of which he gave an extraordinary proof, while at Rome, where he executed fixty different drawings, between the morning and evening of the fame day, for a wager. They were allowed to have great merit and variety. He won his wager, but his health was fo much affected by his exertion, that he felt the impreffion for fome weeks after. A few of thefe draw- ings are now in the poffeffion of Mr. P. Sandby, to whom they were given by the Hon. C. Greville, who obtained them at Rome. He was lately living at a very advanced age. * In a French publication, entitled, " Eflai d'un Tableau Hiftorique des " Peintres de l'Ecole Francoife," &c. publilhed in quarto, 1783, Clerilfeau is ' ililed Principal Architect to the Ernprefs of Ruflia. 74 Anecdotes of Painting. J. VERBRUGEN. A native of Holland, who was many years mafter-founder at Woolwich Warren, where he greatly improved the procefs of calling and boring cannon. On account of his profeffional abilities, he was invited to England, at the recommendation of Sir Jofeph Yorke, when Ambaffador to the States General. Befides his fk ill in foundery, he was fond of painting, which he practifed for his amufement, and, in 1772, exhibited* four pictures, chiefly fea- views, in which fubjecls he mewed confi- derable talents. He died at Woolwich, about the year 1 780. His fon fucceeded him as mafter-founder, but furvived his father but a few years, He alfo drew with confiderable merit. JOHN WILLIAMS. A portrait painter, faid to have been a fcholar of Richardfon. His name ftands in the firft exhibition catalogue to a half-length portrait of Mr. Beard t> the celebrated finger, from which there is a mezzotinto print by M'Ardel. * In the exhibition of the Society of Artirts. | This refpeftable gentleman poffefied a confiderable fhare in Covent-Garden theatre. He died in Feb. 1791. This A necdotes of Pain ting . 7 5 This perfon was very fuperior in abilities to many of his co- temporary artifts, as was evinced by a three-quarter portrait, exhibited at the Society's Rooms in the Strand, 1761, which was much and defervedly admired. He lived long in Upper Scotland-yard. The time of his death is uncertain, but it is fuppofed to have been about the year 1780. He left a fon, with whom the compiler of thefe anecdotes was acquainted. He profeffed painting, but was not diftinguimed for his talents in the art. MISS CATHERINE READ. This lady poffefled a confiderable fhare of reputation as a painter of portraits, both in oil and crayons. She refided chiefly in the neighbourhood of St. James's, and was a fre- quent exhibitor. There are feveral mezzotinto prints, after pictures which the painted. About the year 1770, me went to the Eail Indies, where flie ftaid a few years, and then returned to England. She died in London between the years 1780 and 1790. She had a niece *, who, when young, was confidered as of promifing abilities in the art. She accompanied her aunt to the Eaft, where me became the wife of Sir Oakley, Bart. She is now refident in the vicinity of Shrewsbury. * Mifs Beetfon. L 2, 76 Anecdotes of Painting. JOHN KITCHINMAN. A miniature painter of good abilities, who alfo painted in oil. He was fond of naval purfuits, and in June 1777 won the filver cup, which was annually given, by the late Duke of Cum- berland, to the bed navigator of a failing boat on the Thames. At a very early period of life, he married a neighbour's daughter as young as hitnfelf, and, what generally occurs from fuch juvenile connections, they became tired of each other, and feparated in a few years. Afterwards he fell into irregularities, which ruined his conflitution, and he expired while the fur- geon was amputating one of his legs, which was difeafed by intemperance. He painted four piclures, which he denominated the Progrefs of a Cutter. They reprefent the Building, the Chafing, the Unloading, and the Diifolution. From thefe there are prints, which are well engraved by the late Mr. Pouncy. He was early admitted a ftudent of the Royal Academy. He drew a tolerably good Academy figure, and obtained feveral premiums of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts. He died at his lodgings in Bedford-ftreet, Covent-garden, in January 1782, about forty years of age. FRANCIS SWAINE Painted fea-views, and worked moftly for the mops. His piclures, though not of the firft rank, yet have confiderable merit. When Anecdotes of Painting. 77 When the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. offered premiums for the painting of fea-views, Mr. Svvaine became a candidate, and in the firft year, 1764, obtained the fecond prize, 15 guineas, and in the next year the fecond prize, 21 guineas. About the year 1770, he painted the face of a wind-dial, with fea and fhips, which he executed with great neatnefs. This work is in one of the apartments at the Queen's Palace. This artifl refided for many years in Stretton Ground, Weft- mi nfter, but removed near Averey Farm, Chelfea, where he died about the year 1782. RICHARD WILSON, R. A. This gentleman, it is believed, was born in Montgomery- shire, where his father, a clergyman, pofleffed a fmall benefice, but was afterwards collated to the living of Mould in Flint- fhire, while the fon was very young. His connections were highly refpeclable, being maternally related to the late Lord Chancellor Camden, who was pleafed to acknowledge him as his coufin. At the time of life when it was necelfary to fix on fome pro- feffion, young Wilfon was fent to London, and placed under the tuition of T. Wright*, a portrait- painter of very flender abi- * Thomas Wright, an artift, of whom Mr. Walpole takes not the leaft notice, nor has the author ever met with any mention of him, execept what can be found in the infcriptions under three prints, by Gerard Vander Gutch, engraved after cartoons of Guido, " In the Colledion of T. Wright, Painter, Covent-garden. lities. ;S Anecdotes of Painting. lities. Wilfon, however, acquired fo much knowledge from his matter, as to become a painter of portraits equal to moft of his cotemporaries. He mufi alfo have acquired a degree of rank in his profeffion, for about the year 1 749, he painted a large picture of his prefent Majefty, when Prince of Wales, with his brother, the late Duke of York, which was done for Dr. Hayter, Bifhop of Norwich, at that time tutor to the Princes. He alfo painted another portrait of the fame auguft perfonage, from which there is a mezzotinto print by Faber. The original picture is an- nounced as in the collection of the Rev. Dr. Afcough, and is dated 1 75 1 . After having pra6tifed fome years in London, he went to Italy, and was at Rome at the fame time with feveral Englifli artilts, who afterwards became the ornaments of their country. In Italy he continued the ftudy of portrait painting, though not with the fame fuccefs that attended Sir Jofhua Reynolds, for he was then unacquainted with the peculiar bias of his talents, and might probably have remained long ignorant of his latent powers, but for the following accident. While Wilfon was at Venice, he painted a fmall landfcape, which being feen by Zuccarelli, that artift was fo much ftruck with the merit of the piece, that he ftrongly urged Wilfon to purfue that branch of the art, which advice Wilfon followed, and became one of the firft landfcape painters in Europe. His flumes in landfcape mult have been attended with rapid fuc- cefs, for he had fome pupils in that line of art while at Rome, and his works were fo much efteemed, that Mengs painted his Anecdotes of Painting. 79 his portrait *, for which Wilfon in return painted a land- fcape. It is not known at what time he returned to England, but he was in London in 1758, and refided over the north arcade of the piazza, Covent-Garden, at which time he had gained great celebrity as a landfcape painter. To the firft exhibition of 1760, he fent his piclure of Niobe, which confirmed his repu- tation. It was afterwards bought by William Duke of Cumber- land, and is now in the poffeffion of his Royal Highnefs the Duke of Gloucefter. In 1765, he exhibited (with other pictures) a View of Rome, from the Villa Madama, a capital performance, which was purchased by the late Marquis of Taviltock. Though he had acquired great fame, yet he did not find that conftant employment, which his abilities deferved. This neglect might probably refult from his own conducl, for it mud be confefled, that Mr. Wilfon was not very prudentially attentive to his intereft ; and, though a man of ftrong fenfe, and fuperior education to moil of the artifts of his time, he cer- tainly did not polfefs that fuavity of" manners which diftin- guilhed many of his cotemporaries. On this account, his connections and employment infenfibly diminiihed, and left him, in the latter part of his life, in comfortlefs infirmity. When the Royal Academy was inftituted, he was chofen one of the founders, and, after the death of Mr. Hayman, made * This portrait which is one of Mengs's beft productions, was boughtof Wilfon by the late Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, and is now in the collection of tke pre- fent Baronet. the 8o Anecdotes of Painting. the librarian, which fituation he retained, until his decayed health compelled him to retire to his brother's in "Wales, where he died in .May 1782. Of this crentleman's talents as an artift, it is not eafv to lpeak with precifion, for before we can form a juft eitimate of his abilities, he muft be confidered in two capacities: firft, as a {portrait painter; and fecondly, as a paiuter of landfcape. As a portrait painter, (which was his firfl purfuit) his works are not fufficiently known, nor are they marked by any traits which difiinguifh them from the general manner, which then prevailed among his cotemporaries in that line of art. No decided character can therefore be affixed to them. It may however, be afferted, that he drew a head equal to any of the portrait painters of his time. A fpecimen of which may be feen by a drawing now in the poffeffion of * J. Richards, Efq. which is the portrait of Admiral Smith, and which was drawn before Wilfon went abroad. It is executed in black and white chalk, as large as life, upon brown French paper, and is treated in a bold mafterly manner ; but this is not a work which can authorize the critic to confider him as fuperior to the other portrait painters of his day. But while we are unable to define his merits as a portrait painter, from the want of fuch fpecimens as would direct our judgment, we are by no means deficient in proofs of his powers in landfcape painting, in which line his talents fuddenly broke forth, and fhone out with fuperior luftre. * One of the founders, and Secretary to the Royal Academy. Though Anecdotes of Painting. 81 Though there is reafon to fufpect, that Wilfon had painted * lome landfcapes before he went abroad, yet it is certain, that he did not commence a regular courfe in that ftudy, until after he had been fome time in Italy: When he began, however, he did not waile his time, nor fubjugate his powers to the unimproving drudgery of copying the pictures of the old matters, but con- tented himfelf with making his observations upon their works, and afterwards confirming thofe obfervations by his ftudies from nature. In confequence of this prudent method of cultivating his talents, he wifely avoided any imitation of the pictures of the Italian matters, who preceded him, and at once ftruck out a manner, both of execution and defign, which was claffical, grand, and original. Of the originality of his ftyle, we are convinced, by infpecl- ing his works, for in moil of them he has reprefented the general character of Italy with more decided precifion, than can be found in the works of his predecefTors In his pictures, the waving line of mountains, which bound the diftance in every point of view ; the dreary and inhofpitable plains, rendered Solemnly interefting, by the mouldering frag- ments of temples, tombs, and aqueducts, are all indicated in a mafterly manner, exhibiting that local character, which, though it be familiar to the inhabitants, cannot but be confidered as peculiarly grand and claffical. * There is a print engraved by J. S. Miller, from a pi&ure painted by R. Wilfon, a view of Dover, without date, but evidently executed before he went abroad. M But 82 Anecdotes of Painting. But leaving general praife or criticifm, it will be proper to confider more particularly this mailer's productions. In doing this, we thai! firfl take notice of a cenfure, which has been paffed upon one of his principal works, by an artift, whofe abilities and reputation command refpecl, though they can- not enforce our implicit affent to his opinions, I mean Sir Jofliua Reynolds, who, in one of the difcourfes *, which he gave in the Royal Academy, paffed fome ftriclures upon Wil* fon's picture of Niobe, which did not perfectly coincide with the fentiments of thofe, who then heard, or who have fince perufed them. But in order to judge how far thofe ftri&ures were juft or otherwife, and whether the difapprobation, with which they were received, was or was not well founded, they are here pre- fented to the reader. " Our late ingenious academician, Wilfon, has, I fear, been " guilty, like many of his predeceffors, of introducing gods " and goddeffes, ideal beings, into fcenes which were by no " means prepared to receive fuch perfonages. His land- " fcapes were in reality too near common nature, to admit " fupernatural objects. In confequence of this miftake, in a " very admirable picture of a Storm, which I have feen of his " hand, many figures are introduced in the foreground, fome in " apparent diftrefs, and fome ftruck dead, as a fpectato" would " naturally fuppofe, by the lightning, had not the painter inju- " dicioufly (as I think) rather chofen that their death mould. * This difcourfe was read December 10, 1788, foon after the death of r.ainlborough, and was the laft but one delivered by the Prefident. " be Anecdotes of Painting. 8 •j " be imputed to a little Apollo, who appears in the fky with his " bent bow, and that thofe figures mould be confidered as the " children of Niobe. " To manage a fubject of this kind, a peculiar ftyle of art " is required, and it can only be done without impropriety, or " even without ridicule, when we adapt the character of the " landfcape, and that too in all its parts, to the hiftorical or " poetical reprefentation. " This is a very difficult adventure, and it requires a mind " thrown back two thoufand years, and, as it were, naturalized " in antiquity, like that of Nicolo Pouffin, to achieve it. " In the picture alluded to, the firft idea that prefents itfelf, " is that of wonder, in feeing a figure in fo uncommon a fitua- " tion, as that in which the Apollo is placed, for the clouds on " which he kneels, have not the appearance of being able to " fupport him, they have neither the fubftance nor the form fit " for the receptacle of a human figure, and they do not pofTefs, " in any refpe6t, that romantic character which is appropriated " to fuch a fubjeci, and which alone can harmonize with " poetical ftories." Sir Jofhua then obferves, that " the Dutch and Flemifh flile " of landfcape, not even excepting thofe of Rubens, is unfit " for poetical fubjeds ; but to explain in what this inaptitude " confifts, or to point out all the circumftances that gives " noblenefs, grandeur, and the poetic character to Hyle in " landfcape, would require a long difcourfe of itfelf, and the " end would be then perhaps but imperfectly attained." m 2 Though 84 Anecdotes of Tainting. Though we may allow the foregoing obfervations to be per- fectly juft, when taken in a general fenfe, yet when they are applied to "Wilton's picture of Niobe in particular, they cer- tainly muft be confidered as forced, and as the effect of petulant pique, rather than the correction of juft criticifm. This affertion is juftified by the following inaccuracy : It is aflerted, that "Wilton's pictures are " too near common nature, to admit fupernatural objects :" but the queftion here does not concern his other pictures, but relates to that of Niobe only, and confequently whatever improprieties may be feleeted from his other works, they cannot warrant a charge againft this picture in particular. But to form a juft eftimate of the work in queftion, we mould firlt confider the fpecies of objects, of which the landfcape is compoft d, whether they be, or be not appropriate to the fubject of the picture; and, upon fuch examination, it may certainly be allowed, that they all are of that kind, which can only be felectedfrom what are univerfally confidered as the grandeft and moft clatTical features in nature. But if the faltidious critic is difpleafed with thofe, which have been felected by Wilton, let him fuppofe his mind to be " thrown back two thoufand years, and, as it were, naturalized in antiquity," what objects could then be felected from nature, by his imagination, which differ from her productions in the prefent day ? The natural materials of landfcape, have been the fame in all ages. The only difference which characterizes antiquity, originates in the works of art, and if thefe had been introduced as antique features, they would Anecdotes of Tainting. 85 would certainly have counteracted the fimplicity and grandeur of the picture as it now Hands. Sir Jofhua next obferves, that " the figure of Apollo is placed " in an uncommon fituation, the clouds on which he kneels not " having the appearance of being able to fupport him." Py this remark it feems, that Sir Jofhua did not recollect the picture * 3 or examine the print, when he wrote his critique, for the figure in queftion is by no means fo difpofed, as to give the fpeclator any idea of pain from its want of fupport ; and the fize is per- fectly fuited to its place or reprefentation upon the picture, as the appearance of the cloud is fully equal to the weight, which it is fuppofed to fuftain; and, indeed, the figure appears to be floating upon that fpecies of cloud, which is often feen rolling along in a thunder-ftorm, near the furface of the earth, while the reit of the atmofphere is loaded, and uniformly obfcured, by thofe dark and heavy vapours, that occafion the ftorm. The feverity of Sir Jofhua, as before remarked, was in fome degree attributed to private pique, and not without reafon, for Sir Joihua and Mr. Wilfon were often obferved to treat each other, if not with rudenefs, at leafi with acrimony. But that we may not feem defirous of concealing the defeats in this artift's productions, we rauft obferve, that Wilfon, in the exe- cutive part of his works, was rather too carelefs, a defect which * It is very probable, that Sir Jofhua formed his critique upon that piclure, of the fubject which was firit painted by Wilfon, and is now in the poireffion of Sir Geo. Beaumont, Bart, from which pi&ure a print was lately engraved by S. Smith, who was a pupil of Mr. Woollet. increafed 86 Anecdotes of Painting. increafed in the decline of his life, and that his foregrounds were at all times too much neglecled and unfmifhed. His Englifh views, of which he painted feveral, had this de- feel; in a very fenfible degree, and they were rather too much Italianized, to produce a corre6t fimilitude to the fcenes, from which they were drawn. Another peculiarity in his practice cannot be paffed over without notice, namely, his frequent repetition of the fame fubject or view, for, excepting his principal piclure of Niobe, there are few of his paintings, which he has not repeated four or even five times, and with little or no variation. This circumftance will hereafter render it difficult to the future connoiffeur, to determine the originality of many of Mr. Wilfon's pieces, which, neverthelefs, are the productions of his own hand. Mr. Wilfon left many excellent drawings and fketches, which are moftly executed in black and white chalk, upon blue grey Roman paper. They are generally diftinguifhed by his mark, which is given in the Appendix. Mr. Wilfon had feveral pupils, among whom the following are the moft confiderable : Mr. Plimer, faid to have been a native of Blandford, in Dorfetfhire. He died young in Italy, before the year 1770. Mr. Johnson Carr, or Kerr, defcended from a refpe&able family of the North. He was a young man of the moft pro- mifing abilities, but of infirm conflitution. His life was termi- nated Anecdotes of Painting. 87 nated by a rapid comfumption, of which he died, January 16, 1765, in the 22d year of his age. He obtained feveral premiums from the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. which were given by them fo 1 * the belt drawings of landfcapes, by youths under the age of nine- teen, particularly in the years 1762 and 1763, when he received the firft prizes. Both thefe drawings had great merit, particu- larly the laft, which was a view taken from the fleam-engine at Pimlico, looking towards the towers of Weftmi niter Abbey. It was diawn in black and white chalk upon blue paper, and was an excellent performance. Mr. Steel, a native of Ireland, who returned to his native fpot, about the year, 1763. Joseph Farington, R. A. William Hodges, R. A. Thomas Jones, Efq. of whom a further account is given in another part of this work. Mr. Feary, who quitted the art. mg Mr. Atkinson, who alfo retired from the practice of paint- Lijt 88 Anecdotes of Painting. Lijl of Prints engraved from Mr. Wilfon's Pictures. Portrait of his prefent Majefty, when Prince of Wales (mezzotinto) ... View of Dover ----- Speculum Dianae Niobe Phaeton ------ View in the Villa Madama, II Theatro - View in Italy - Twelve Views in Rome, and other parts of Italy, long quarto - View of the Campania of Rome Fall of the Niagara - SiK Views in North and South Wales I Engravers. Faber. Miller. Wood. Wollett. Ditto. Apollo and the Seafons i i75i No date 1/59 1761 1/63 Wm. Byrn. 1765 J. Roberts. 1765 M.A. Rooker, Tar- rington, Gandon, Hodges, &c. chiefly etchings. Wm. Byrn. Wm. Byrn. 1774. Mafon, Byrn, Rooker, and others. Wolletand ' Pouncey. ///*■ I Meleagar and Atalanta ; the figures by Mor- £ Wollett and timer ------ The fame Subjects in mezzotinto - Solitude ------ Cicero at his Villa - * Niobe, the firft of the fubjeft which was painted T. Smith. * For this print Mr. Byrn obtained a premium in 1765. Ditto. Earlom. Woollet. Ditto. »779- 1778. 1778. 1803. Anecdotes of Painting. 89 WILLIAM PARS, A. Born in London. His father was by profeflion a chafer, a profeffion at that time more in requeft than at prefent. The fon received his firft inftruclions in art at Shipley's drawing-fchool, and obtained feveral premiums from the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, at their, firft eftabliflnnent. He afterwards ftudied in the Duke of Richmond's Gallery, and in the Academy of St. Martin's-lane. In the early part of the year 1764, he obtained the third pre- mium, twenty guineas, for hiftoric painting. The fame year the Dilettanti Society having determined to employ a portion of their accumulated fubferiptions in the cul- tivation of elegant literature, they refolved to fend fome per- fons into Greece, to make further refearches among the re- mains of antiquity, which are ftill to be found in Ionia ; for which purpofe the following gentlemen were felecled : the Rev. Dr. Chandler of Oxford was appointed to' the literary depart- ment ; to Mr. Revet was afligned the architectural inquiries j and Mr. Pars was chofen as the draughtfman. The inftru6tions, by which the travellers were to regulate their conduct, were drawn up by order of the Society, and de- livered to Dr. Chandler in May, and the party failed in June 1764. They were abfent about three years. Some time after their return, Mr. Pars again vifited the Con- tinent, in company with the late Lord Palmerfton, by whom he was taken to make drawings of the views and antiquities which N his qo Anecdotes of Painting. his Lord Hi ip chofe to felect in his tour. Thofe drawings were chiefly made through Switzerland, the Glaciers, and part of the Tyrolefe ; and feveral of the views, which were then taken, were afterwards exhibited at the Royal Academy, 1 77 1. In 1774, the Dilettanti Society again diftinguifhed themfelves, by refoTving to fend a ftudent to Home, for a certain number of years, upon a pennon, to complete his ftudies as a painter, and Mr. Pars was chofen to that honour; on which account he left London, in the fummer of 1775, and arrived at Rome in November following. He did not live many years after his arrival at that city, but died there of a fever, in the autumn of the year 1782, about forty years of age. Before he went to Italy, he refided fome years in Percy-ftreet, Rathbone-place, where he had purchafed a houfe, and where he practiced chiefly portraits and views. One of his firft produc- tions was a portrait in the firft exhibition of 1760. When at Rome, he made many excellent drawings from differ- ent parts of that city, and its neighbourhood, which were exe- cuted for Lord Palmerilon, from whom he had a very liberal commiffion. There are fix prints, which were engraved by different mafters, after fome of the drawings which he made in his tour through Switzerland. There are alfo feveral in aqua tinta, by Mr. Paul Sand by, and likewife many that were engraved by Mr. AVilliam Byrne, after the views that were colle&ed in Greece. The latter were executed at the expenfe of the Dilettanti Society. He was elecled an Affociate of the Royal Academy in 1770. Mr, Anecdotes of Fainting. g i Mr. Pars had an elder brother, who was brought up to the profeffion of his father, but, as chafing declined in faihion, he engaged in conducting the drawing-fchool which was founded by Mr. Shipley. This juvenile academy has long been clofed ; and it is to be lamented, that, at this time, there is no fehool in this immenfe metropolis, where youth can be inftrufted in the firft rudiments of the Arts. GEORGE MICHAEL MOSER, R. A. Born at Shafhaufen in Switzerland. When young, he viiited a diltant Canton, where he met with one of his townfmen, and being inclined to travel, was foon perfuaded to make a tour to England. He and his companion performed the journey together, chiefly through France, riding and walk- ing occafionally, as beft fuited their convenience and finances. When they arrived in London, the perfon, to whom Mr. Mofer had letters of recommendation, introduced him to the notice of Mr. Trotter, at that time a celebrated cabinet-maker and upholfterer in Soho, by whom he was employed as a chafer for the brafs decorations of cabinets, tables, and fuch articles of furniture, as required thofe fpecies of ornaments, which at that time were in fafhion. In this fituation, his talents were fufficient to attract the notice of thofe who were concerned in modelling and chafing, and he foon rofe to confiderable rank in his profeffion. It may with great truth be afl'erted, that the Royal Academy owes its origin to the exertions of the prefent artift, but of this n i circumftance, t)2 Anecdotes of Fainting. circumftance, an ample account has been already given in the former part of this work. It is therefore fuflicient to obferve, that, in the private Academy, which, during many years, was holden in St. Martin's-lane, Mr. Mofer, by the unanimous con- fent of the members, always acled as Treafurer and Manager, trulls which he executed with the greater! punctuality and integrity. At the foundation of the Royal Academy in 1 768, Mr. Mofer was appointed the keeper ; and when his Majeily was gracioully pleafed to fix the inftitution at Somerfet-houfe, he had apart- ments allotted to him in that ancient palace, where he refided until the prefent building was fmifhed, when fuitable accommo- dations were allotted to the Keeper*. This fituation Mr. Mofer continued to fjll, with the greateft refpeclability, till his death, which happened January 23, 1783; and fuch was the refpecl; which the ftudents entertained for him, that many of them voluntarily attended his funeral. He was interred in the burial ground of Covent-garden. As an artift, Mr. Mofer ranked very high, for his abilities were not confined merely to chafing ; he alfo might be coufi- dered as one of our bell medalHlls, as is fufficiently teftified by fcveral of his works in that line of art. Helikewife painted in enamel with great beauty and accuracy, and many of his productions, particularly fome watch-cafes f, were moll elegant and claflical in their enrichments. He was * And alfo the Secretary, who was the late Mr. Newton. ■\ One which he painted for her Majefty, has the portraits (whole figures) of the Prince of Wales, and Bifnop of Ofnaburgh, when they were very young. well Anecdotes of Tainting. 93 well fkilled in the conftru&ion of the human figure, and, as an inftruclor in the Academy, his manners, as well as his abilities, rendered him a mod refpe&able mailer to the ftudents*. Mr. Mafer leftan only daughter, who has greatly diftinguifhed herfelf by her abilities in painting flowers, on which account fhe was admitted one of the firft members of the Royal Aca- demy. She married a gentleman of the name of Lloyd, but is now a widow. FRANK VANDERMINE, or VANDER MIJNE. A native of Holland, who lived many years in England, and praclifed as a portrait painter, both in London and the country. I Ie was fome time at Norwich, where he painted feveral heads. He had confiderable merit as an artift, but was of mean ad- drefs and vulgar manners : He loved fmoking and drinking, nor would forego his pipe, though it was offenfive to his employers, fo that henever acquired the praclice which he might otherwife have obtained. He boafled, that after he had painted a portrait, the likenefs remained fo ftrong upon his memory, that if the picture were immediately obliterated, he could repaint the refemblance without the aiMance of the fitter. * In Mr. Malone's Memoirs of Sir Jufhua Reynolds, there is a very refpect- ful memorial to Mr. Mofer, which was written by Sir Jofhua, and published in Some periodical work a few days after Mr. Mofer's funeral. Sec Mr. Malone's Account, Vol. I. page xxvu. He q4 Anecdotes of Vaulting. He died in indigent circumftances, at his apartments in Moorfields, fome time in 1783. Befide Frank, there were two other artiils of the fame name, R. and A. Vandermine, both of whom were related to the former. One of them painted for the fliops, and there are many flight pictures of an Old Man, in a loofe coat and hair cap, hugging a bag of money, which were painted, by one of thefe artifts. The wife of one of them was alfo of the profeflion : She painted fruit and flowers, and they were all exhibitors at the Society's Rooms in the Strand, in the years 1 761 and t 762. There is a mezzotinto portrait of Frank, from a picture of his own painting, inferibed, The Smoker. It represents himfelf in profile, with a pipe in his mouth. TEMPLE WEST, Esq. This gentleman, in the early part of his life, engaged in the naval department, with his uncle, Admiral Weft, who was fecond in command under Admiral Byng, in his unfortunate engagement with the French in the Mediterranean in 1756. In this aftion he received a wound, which increafed his former difguft to the naval fervice, which he therefore quitted, and entered into themilitary, where he attained the rank of Lieu- tenant Colonel in the late Duke of Gloucefter's regiment of foot guards, in which fituation he continued to the clofe of his life. For his amufement he pra&ifed painting. The fubjeas of bis pencil were fea views, in which he poflefied confiderable merit. Anecdotes of Tainting. 95 merit. He was feveral times an honorary exhibitor with the Royal Academicians, particularly in the year 1778, when the fubjeet of his picture was a Ship fcaling her Guns. He was alfo a good amateur performer on the violin, and, by the elegant amufements of painting and mufic, greatly alle- viated the pain he conftantly fuffered from the wound he had received in his youth, which at laft occafioned his death, September 17, 1783, in the 44th year of his age. MARY BENWELL. This lady lived long in Warwick-court, Warwick-lane, and fupported a refpe&able chara6ter as a painter of portraits in oil colours, crayons, and miniature. She firft exhibited in 1762, and continued to difplay her works until 1783, after which her name no more appears in the catalogues of the exhibition. She married a gentleman of the name of Code, who had a commiflion in the army, and for whom fhe purchafed fuperior rank. He was afterwards flationed at Gibraltar, where he died, but at what time is not known. She was living at Paddington in 1800, to which place the had long retired from her profeffion. ()(> tnecdotes &f Painting. JAMES JEFFERIES. Born at Maidftone in Kent. His father was a painter in that town. The fon was fent to London, and placed under the care of his townfman, Mr. Woollet, the engraver, "but he ftudied paint, ing, and entered of the Royal Academy; and, in 1773, he obtained the gold medal given annually at that time by the Royal Academy, for the beft hiftorical picture ; and, in the year 1775, "was fent to Rome upon the pennon of that eftablifh- ment. He ftaid in Italy about four years, and, at his return, fettled at London in Meard's-ftreet, Soho ; but being un- guarded in his mode of living, caught cold, which hurried him into a deep decline, of which he died January 31, 1784. There is a good print, which was engraved by Mr. "NVoollet, from a picture painted by Jefferies, reprefenting the Deftruclion of the Spanilli Floating Batteries before Gibraltar, in 1782 which picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1783 *. It mould be obferved, that the father was much employed at Maidftone, being what is called a painter in general, there- fore frequently engaged in decorating coaches. He alfo painted landfcapes and fruit pieces : Of the latter he produced fome good fpecimens, feveral of which were in the exhibitions of the Royal Academy. The father died in 1805. * This picture was in the European Mufeum in 1804. Anecdotes of Painting. 97 GEORGE BARRET, R.A. Was born in or near Dublin. It is not known that he received any regular inftructions in painting. He began his attempts in the very humble line of colouring prints, in which he was employed by a perfon of the name of Siicock, in Nicholas- ftreet, Dublin. From this feeble commencement he rofe to confiderable powers as a landfcape-painter, by ftudying from the fcenes of nature in the Dargles, and in the Park at Powerfcourt *. He is faid to have received patronage and encouragement from the noble pofleflbr of the latter feat. He came to England about the year 1763, and foon became famous by a picture he painted, for which he obtained the firfl premium (fifty guineas) that was given for the beft landfcape- painting, by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. in the year 1 764. He was for feveral years much employed and celebrated, but not being very prudent in his economy, he became a bankrupt, at which time he found a friend and patron in Mr. Lock, who employed him to paint a room at his feat at Norbury Park, near Leatherhead, in Surrey, which work is by many confidered as the artifl's mafler-piece. He refided feveral years in Orchard-ftreet, Portman-fquare, but after his engagement with Mr. Lock, he removed to Wcft- * Both thefe places are in the neighbourhood of Dublin. O bourn 98 Anecdotes of Tainting. bourn Green, near Paddington, a fituation more congenial to his health, than any town refidence, as for fome years he was afflicted with an aflhmatic complaint, which at times obftructed his exertions. At the inltitution of the Royal Academy, he was chofen one of the founders, and, in the latter part of his life, enjoyed the place of Mafter Painter to Cheliea Hofpital, an appointment which was given to him by his countryman Mr. E. Burke, while in adminiftration ; but he did not long enjoy the fitua- tion, as he died in March 1784, leaving a widow and family. The landfcapes of Mr. Barret bore a high character during his life-time, but, fince his death, their fame has fomething diminished : Their ftyle is perfectly original, formed from nature, felected among the rocky fcenes of his native ifland, and the north weftern counties of England. It muft be confelfed, that there is a want of harmony throughout his pictures, which, in general, exhibit in his trees the deep greens of midfummer, oppofed to the orange tints of autumn, thereby producing an oppofition in the colouring, which is by no means pleafing even when exhibited in nature. Mr. Barret made feveral drawings, chiefly in water colours. Some of them have confiderable merit, and he fometimes painted animals, which he executed in a bold and mafterly manner. He alfo left fome etchings of his performance, they are as follows: A View in the Dargles, near Dublin, 11 in. \ long by 8 in. \. Six '( - ) Tim ]R? Mo^T 5 eid>mcto> Burke Drawn from the Life N < ■ • Anecdotes of Tainting. 99 Six Views of Cottages near London ; one of them is a view of Wilfden Church, but reverfed, and not very correct 8 in. long by 5 in. f . A large Landfcape with Cottages. Of thefe productions*, the firit is the beft, the others were too ftrongly bitten by the aqua fortis, and are not very mafterly ; they are all without name or date. The plates of thefe etchings were bought by Mr. Paul Sandby, but no impreflions have yet been publifhed. Befides thefe works, there is a print of a quarto fize, which is marked as etched by himfelf, but it is difficult to diflinguifli his portion of the work, as it is evidently finifhed by fome engraver. The fubjecl is a view of Hawarden Caftle, publifhed byBoydell, 1773. NATHANIEL HONE, R. A. A native of Dublin. His father was in the mercantile line in that city, and the fon, having a natural inclination to painting, acquired the art by his own induftry. When he came to England is not known; but early in life he painted in feveral parts of the country, particularly at York, where he met with a lady of fome property, whom he married. A fhort time after he fettled in London, and refided for fome years in St. James's-place, where he practifed with reputation, both as a painter in oil, and in miniature, par- o 2 ticularly i oo A necdotes of Pain ting. ticularly enamel ; and after the death of Mr. Zincke, he ranked among the principal artifts of his day in that line. His name ftands in the firft exhibition catalogue to the fol- lowing fubjecT, " A Portrait in oil of a Brickduft Man," well known at that time in the ftreets of London. In the year 1775, Mr. Hone made an exhibition of feveral of his works, at a great room nearly oppofite to Old Slaughter's Coffee-houfe, St. Martin's-lane. The collection contained be- tween fixty and feventy paintings ; among them were two, which claimed particular notice. It feemed, that the firft idea of this exhibition owed its origin to pique, and fome- thing of envy in the artift towards Sir Jofliua Reynolds, and this opinion is fuggefted by the following anecdotes: In the exhibition of the Royal Academy 1770, there was a picture painted by Mr. Hone, entitled*, " Two Gentlemen in Maf- querade." They were reprefented as capuchin friars, regaling themfelves with punch. When this picture was fent for ad- miflion, one of the perfonages was reprefented as fqueezing a lemon, while the other was ftirring the liquor with the crucifix, at the end of his rofary : but the Council confidered the latter circumftance as too indecorous to allow the picture being exhibited in that ftate, and the artift was requefted to alter the crucifix. This requeft Avas complied with ; but Mr. Hone was much offended, when, in truth, he ought rather to have been pleafed with their having pointed out an impropriety, which * The heads were the portraits of Captain Francis Grofe, F. S. A. well known for his writings on Antiquities, and Theophilus Foreft, Efq. might r />.•».•• .>.-/i»'. tfll%M€$£ «*«» reprefented as holding an arch-lute. t Monfieur Rouquet, in his pamphlet, entitled, " The Prefent State of the * Arts in England," published 1755, mentions this gentleman in the following 1 1 refpeclable Anecdotes of Painting. t 107 pofl'efs a calm reprefentation of nature, that much exceeds the mannered affectation of fquarenefs, which prevailed among his cotemporary artifts ; and, it may be juftly allowed, that he was among the firft of thofe who contributed to improve the dege- nerated flyle of portrait painting. That he pofleifed a confider- able degree of public notice, may be presumed from the follow- ing obfervation of Mr. Walpole, who fays, that " Reynolds and " Ramfay have wanted fubjefts, not genius ;" but the truth is, that if the latter poflefled equal genius with the former, he ftill wanted that affection to his art, which, added to his natural tafte, were the conftant ftimuli to Sir Jolhua's exertions, and the caufe of his great fuperiority above his brother artifts*. Mr. Ramfay fuffered himfelf to be diverted by literary pur- fuits, which he feemed to prefer to the cultivation of his art. Though he poflefled the Latin, French, and Italian languages, yet, like Cato of old, he acquired the Greek in the advanced part of his life. He was a man of ftrong underftanding, and exerted his pen in fome political publications, but whiqh are unknown to the writer of thefe Anecdotes. refpectable manner: "Ramfay is an able painter, who, acknowledging no other " guide than nature, brought a rational tafte of refemblance with him from Italy ; " he (hewed, even in his portraits, that juft, fteady fpirit, which he fo agreeably " difplays in his converfation." * In the office of the fecretary of the Royal Academy, there is an Academy figure, which was drawn by Mr. Ramfay, and is dated 1739. It is carefully executed, but the outline is rather in a feeble gufto. A very good whole-length portrait of the celebrated Dr. Mead, which was yainted by Mr. Ramfay, is now at the Foundling Hofpital. p 2 He ] 08 Anecdotes of Painting. He was twice married. His laft lady was a daughter of Sir David Lindfey. He left a fon and daughter, the prefent General Ramfay, and the widow of Sir Archibald Campbell, who was born at Rome. HUGH DEAN. A native of Ireland, who painted landfcape. He found a patron in the late Lord Palmerfton, by whofe affiftance he vifited Rome, where he ftaid fome years; and by afupple addrefs, and infinuating manners, obtained the notice of feveral Englifh gentlemen, who vifited that city. He left a wife and fon in England, of whom he became totally negligent, but his patron, difapproving this part of his conduct, fent her and the youth to Italy, with a letter of fevere reproof for his unprincipled behaviour, and {he arived at Florence, where her fpoufe then refided, before he received the leaft notice of her journey. This was in the year 1776. The meeting of the parties was attended with circumftances rather comic, for Dean happening to be Handing at the door of the Locanda, where he dwelt, and, feeing a calafh approach with a lady, immediately advanced to offer her his afiiftance ; but what was his furprife and chagrin, when he found that lady to be his wife, for whom he entertained the moft fovereign contempt. He fled from the object of his difguft to Valembrofa, where he ftaid fome days to recover his fpirits. On his return, he contrived to perfuade his lady to return to England, pro- mifing Anecdotes of Painting, 1 OQ mifing her he would foon follow; but he had the kindnefs to retain the fon, whom he placed foon after with Admiral Mann, at that time ftationed in the Mediterranean. Dean returned to London about the year 1779, and did not meet with the notice he expected. From the impropriety of his conduct, he loft the fupport of his patron and friend. In the fpring of 1780, he made an exhibition of his paintings, together with a tranfparent reprefentation of Mount Vefuvius, in a large room in Great Hart-ftreet, Covent-garden. In addi- tion to his own works there were feveral drawings, the produc- tions of an Italian, whom he had employed when in Italy. They confifted of views about Rome, together with fludies from the noble trees and rocky fcenes in the mountains of Valernbrofa. They were chiefly drawn in Italian black chalk upon white paper, and were executed in a manner truly mafterly. Whether this exhibition was profitable to Dean or not, is unknown to the author of thefe Anecdotes, but the drawings were foon after fold by auction; and, in a year or two following, the unfuccefs- ful painter became a methodift preacher, in which fituation, he had talents not ill adapted to allure the attention of a weak and illiterate congregation. However, he did not long furvive this change of profeffion, but died about the year 1784. In the exhibition catalogues of 1766, 1767, and 1768, his name ftands as an exhibitor; in the fir ft, it is figned H. P. Dean, and the picture defcribed, in the laft, is a view in Hungary; he muft confequently have left London before that time. 1 10 Anecdotes of Painting. JOHN EOLDSONE. A painter of portraits in oil, fmall heads, of no great merit, but with fufficient likenefs to procure much employment at a fmall price. His practice was to attend his fitters at their dwellings. He commonly began in the morning, generally dined with them, if they lived at a diftance, and finifhed his work before evening. He died young, about the year 1784, leaving a wife and fmall family. The eldeft daughter ftudied miniature painting and fucceeded, but unfortunately beftowed her hand in marriage on a man, who pretended both to family and fortune, without being poflefTed of either. Foldfone made fome attempts in hiftorical painting, but they were too feeble to claim the notice of pofterity. J. ALEFO UNDER, Painted Portraits, and refided for fome years in Bow-ftreet, Covent-garden. He went to the Eaft Indies, about the year 1785, but died there after a few years refidence. / I v> BATTISTA CIPRIAH t, ESQTB l-uld.i:..! ■;. l .-,.,'i / -:i.,l.y->-l"«*- l » r » 1 ll , A ,M I n„, 1 .nH,,,.^N;.: Anecdotes of Painting. ill JOHN BAPTIST CIPRIANI, r. a. Defcended from an ancient family in Florence, where he was born. He received his firft inftruciion from an Englifh artift of the name of Heckford *, who had fettled in that city, and after- wards went under the tuition of Gabiani, a painter of celebrity at that time in Italy. In Auguft 1755, he came to England, with Mr. Wilton and Sir William Chambers,, on their return from the Continent, and was patronized in this country by the late Earl of Tilney, but that nobleman's intereft was not very advantageous to him. In the fpring of 1758, the Duke of Richmond opened the Gallery at his houfe, in Privy Garden, and Mr. Cipriani, toge- ther with Mr. Wilton, were appointed to vifit the ftudents : The former gave inftruclions to thofe who purfued painting, the latter, to thofe who ftudied fculpture; but this fchool of art was not of long duration. Soon after the acceffion of his prefent Majefty to the throne, it was determined to conftrucl; a new ftate-coacb, and Mr, Cipriani. was appointed to paint the pannels, which he executed with great tafte f . At the foundation of the Royal Academy, he was chofen one of the founders : He was alfo employed to make the defign for * He was the brother of Mr. Heckford, an eminent dancing mafter, who built the mufic rooms, which have been long diftinguiflied by his name in Brewer- ftreet, Golden-fquare. t This magnificent carriage was employed for the firft time, Nov.. 15, 1762 the 1 1 2 Anecdotes of Painting. the diploma, which is given to the Academicians and Aflbciates at their admiffion into that Society. This work he executed with great tafte and elegance. For this he received a filver cup, upon which was engraved the following infeription : " This Cup is prefented to J. B. Cipriani, r. a. by the Pre- " fident and Council of the Royal Academy of Arts in " London, as an acknowledgment for the afliftance the " Academy has received from his great abilities in his * profeffion *." After the death of Mr. Cipriani, the original drawing of the diploma was prefented, by his eldeft fon, to the late Marquis of Lanfdown. At the fale of the Marquis's collection of pictures, drawings, &c. this excellent fpecimen of art was fold, in the fpring of 1806, and bought by Mr. G. Baker for thirty- one guineas. Among other avocations, he was employed to clean and re- pair the pictures of Rubens, in the ceiling of Whitehall chapel, which work he completed with great fuccefs, in 1778. He had before repaired the paintings of Vario at Windfor, in which he was affilted by Mr. Richards. About the year 1 761, he married a young lady, with whom he afterwards received a genteel fortune, and by her he had two ions and a daughter: The latter died young. The eldeft fon poileffes an appointment in the treafury. The youngeft began the ftudy of painting, and executed the drawing from * This elegant memorial was ftolen from the houfe of Mr. Cipriani's fon, on the nisht of the 2sUi of Feb. 1705. Mr. T ChamSartr _ S^Peter Paul Ri^be^s Anecdotes of Tainting. \ \ 3 Mr. Copley's pi&ure of the Death of Lord Chatham, from which Mr. Bartolozzi engraved the print : This drawing, made in water-colours, was a moft excellent though a laborious production * Mr. Cipriani, in the latter part of his life, refided In the neighbourhood of Hammerfmuh, where he died Dec. 14, 17 85, and was interred in the burying-ground of Chelfea, in the King's Road ; Over the grave is the following infcription. Eximio Viro, Artinci. et Amico, Johakni Baptist.?: Cipriant, Florentine*. Hie humi defoffo, honoris, luctus, et benevolentiae, Uno delcriplo lapide, triplex edidit monumer: FRAKCiscrs Bartolozzi, fapeifles. Obiit die decima quarta Decembris, Anno Domini 1785, £ta&2 5S. Mr. Cipriani's abilities, as an artift, were very high, parti- cularly as a defigner. In the knowledge of the human figure he was pre-eminent, and his example was of great ufe in cor- recting the tafte of the ftudents, at that time in the Academy. Yet it muft be allowed, that his colouring was not eqnal to his power of defign. As a painter, his merits may be juftlv ap- preciated, by an infpection of the four pictures, which are by his hand in the cove of the ceiling in the library of the Roval Academy. There is a ceiling, in the antique ftyle, at the Queen's- houfe, St. James's-park, the compartments of which he painted, • For this he received only one hundred guineas. Q He 1 1 4 Anecdotes of Painting. He alfo made many very beautiful defigns, naoft of which were engraved by Bartolozzi, particularly thole for that elegant edition of Ariofto, publifhed by Molini. As a man lie was very elegant in his manners, with moft liberal fentiments, ever ready to affift thoie who folicited his inftructions. Yet he had but few fcholars*: The moft pro- mifing, as a painter, was his youngeft fon, already mentioned, who, not meeting with the employment he wiihed, forfook the art, and became an officer in the Huntingdon militia. J. H. BENWELL. The fon of a perfon who acted as under-fteward to the Duke of Marlborough. He was placed under the tuition of Mr. Saunders, a portrait painter, who refided for fome years in Great Ruffel- ftreet, Bloomfbury, but afterwards fettled at Bath as a drawing mafter. Mr. Benwell executed a few fmall pictures, in a way almoii peculiar to himfelf: They were exceedingly beautiful, and painted with a combination of crayons and water colours, and from the few fpecimens which he produced, it is to be lamented, that he did not live long enough to difplay his powers in greater works. He died of a deep confumption, at the early age of one-and- twenty, in the year 1785, being the laft of feveral children of * Mr. Richard Earlom was alfo for fome time under the tuition of Mr. Cipriani* - his Anecdotes of Painting. 1 1 5 his parents, who prematurely funk into the grave, under the fame lingering difeafe. Among the few productions which he left, are the following: The Children in the Wood, from which there is an excellent print, engraved hy Sharp, and published by Mr. Byrn. Venus and Cupid, in the pofTeffion of Mr. Weft. There are alfo engraved heads after defigns of this artift ; one, the St. Giles's, the other, the St. James's Beauty. All thefe works are oval, the largeft of which is not more than ten or twelve inches in the tranfverfe diameter. THOMAS REDMOND, Son of a clergyman at Brecknock, in Wales, was apprenticed to a houfe-painter at Briftol, but improved himfelf as an artift in London, and ftudied a fhort time at the Academy in St. ♦MartinVlane. He lived chiefly at Bath, where he praclifed as a miniature painter with pretty good fuccefs. He died there the latter part of the year 1785, about forty years of age, a widower, leaving three fons, who were taken under the care of Mr. Coward, the mayor of that city in 1782, and related to the orphans. Q 2 1 1 6 Anecdotes of Painting. SAMUEL WALE, R. A. Born in London, and brought up as an engraver of plate. He afterwards ftudied defign, in the Academy of St. Martin's- lane. He alfo practifed painting, in which he imitated the manner of Mr. Hayman, and executed feveral decorative pieces for ceilings : But his chief employment was among the bookfellers, for whom he made many defigns, the principal part of which were engraved with great fpirit by Mr. Grignon. He underftood architecture and perfpeclive, and greatly affifled Mr. Gynn in the decorations of his architectural draw- ings, particularly in the feclion of St. Paul's, and was of fervice to him in the literary part of his publications. At the eAablilhment of the Royal Academy, Mr. Wale was chofen one of the founders, and appointed the firft profeffor of perfpective in that inftitution. Upon the death of Mr. R. Wil- fon, he was alfo made librarian ; both which places he held till his death, which was on the 6th of February 17S6. For many years before his death, he was fo infirm as not to be able to read his lectures in the Academy, and was therefore permitted to give private inftructions to the ftudents at his own houfe. He pofleffed a good deal of fcience in the accefTary parts of his art. His beft works are the final 1 drawings, which he executed for prints, moft of which were drawn in Indian ink : Some of the larger were tinted with colours, but the latter are not equal to thofe of the octavo fize, which are by much the 3 beft. Anecdotes of P aiming. 1 1 7 It may be laid, that he was not one of the nrft artifb of ige ..ch he live ft ^ld be remembered to his honour, that he was a man of excellent character and benevo- lent mind, ever ready to ainK thoie who fought bis' aid or T d the future Antiquary, tbe following anecdote may be en- tertaining, efpecially as it marks tbe change of fain i on and cultom, which took place in the general appearance of the town, not long after tbe acreflion of his prefent Ifaje&y Mr. Wale painted fon. Signs; tbe principal one was a wbole- lensth of v ear, about five feet high, whicb was executed for. and dh played before ibe door of a pubiic-hoafe, the north- we.: cornex of Dttle Ruflel-ftreet in Drury-lane. D e :.: a molt fumptuous carved gilt frame, and by rich iron work ; but this fplendid object of did not hang long before it was taken down, in cor Hence :: ~--e act of parliament which paced for paving and alio for removing the figns and other obstructions in fbeets of London. Such was the total change of fathion, and the consequent dilute of figns, that the above represen- tation of our great dramatic po^: te ;ld for a trifle, to Mis in Lower Gr::~ enor-ftreet, where itttood at his door for feveral years until it was totally deftroyed by the weather and .'...:; accident. : bre this change took place, the univerfal ufe of figns far- ed no little employment for the inferior rank of paint; ::xe5 even for the fuperior profeflbrs ! I Cirron sveral ver £ood ones : But, among them, cefel Med - 118 Anecdotes of Painting. practitioners in this branch, was a perfon of the name of Lamb, who poffeffed a confiderable degree of ability: His pencil was bold and mafterly, well adapted to the fubje&s on which it was generally employed. At that time there was a market for figns, ready prepared, in Harp-alley, Shoe-lane. SPIR1DONA ROMA. A native of Italy, who pra&ifed fome time in London as a painter, but his chief abilities and employment confifted in cleaning pictures. Vet by fome intereft, he obtained a commif- fion to paint a ceiling at the Eaft India-houfe, a work too feeble to confer any credit either on the artift or his employers. He died fuddenly in the ftreet, fome time in the fummer of 1786. JOHN CLEVELY, Was brought up in fome department in the dock-yard, at Deptford ; but by his own exertions, he acquired confiderable {kill and reputation in defigning (hips, and marine views. When the late Lord Mulgrave went upon a voyage of dis- covery in the North Seas, Mr. Clevely attended as draughtf- man : He alio accompanied Sir Jofeph Banks in his tour to Iceland. He fometimes painted in oil, but his chief productions were in water colours. He died in London, June 25, 1786, about forty years of age. Anecdotes of Painting. 1 1 9 ALEXANDER COZENS. By birth a Ruffian, was a landfcape painter, but chiefly prac- tiied as a drawing-mafter. He taught in a way that was new and peculiar, and which appears to have been adopted from the hint given by Leonardo da Vinci, who recommends lelectincr the ideas of landfcape from the ftains of an old plailrer wall, and his method of compofing his drawings may be confidered as an improvement upon the advice of da Vinci. This procefs was, to dafh out, upon feveral pieces of paper, a number of accidental large blots and loofe flouriflies, from which he fele6ted forms, and fometimes produced very grand ideas, but they were in general too indefinite in their exe- cution, and unpleafing in their colour; for being wrought in dark brown or bifter, they appeared fombre and heavy in the extreme, fimilar in their effect to the appearance of nature, when viewed through a dark-coloured lens. He publifhed a finall tracl; upon this method of compofing landfcapes, in which, he has demonftrated his procefs. He alfo publifhed fome other works, the moft considerable of which was, a folio, entitled, "The Principles of Beauty, " relative to the Human Mind." This work is illuftrated by large outlines of profiles, which, by applying the represen- tations of different head-dreffes, printed upon tranlparent paper, can be varied, and thereby made to fhow different, effects upon the fame original outline of features. This work is dated 1778. He- 120 Anecdotes of Fainting. He was alfo author of the following : " The various Species " of Compofition in Nature, 16 Subjects, in four Plates : to " this is fubjoined, fome Obfervations and Inftruelions." " The Shape, Skeleton, and Foliage of thirty-two Species of " Trees. For the Ufe of Painting and Drawing, 1771." This laft work is not very creditable to the artift. It was re-publiftied J 736. As a drawing mafter, he had very considerable reputation and employment. He attended for fome years at Eton School, and among other pupils of high rank, had the honour of giving fome leflbns to his Royal Highnefs the Prince of Wales. He died at his houfe in Leicefter-ftreet, Leicefter-fquare, in April 1766. He married a fifter of Mr. Robert Edge Pine, by whom he left a fon. JOHN COZENS*, Followed the fame profefiion, and in fome degree, the man- ner pra&ifed by his father, but with much greater brilliancy and elegance: He produced fome drawings of great merit, executed by a procefs that may be confidered as tinted chiaro ofcio-o, exhibiting very pleafing effects, and which has ferved as a foundation to the manner fince adopted by Mr. Turner and * This gentleman fometimes figned his name Couseks. the Anecdotes of Painting. 121 the late Mr. Girtin, both of whom copied many of his draw- ings *. Uoth the father and the fon vifited Italy. The latter was there twice. In the year 1794, he became fo deranged in his understand- ing, that he was placejl under the care of Dr. Monro, whofe liberal and dilinterefted conduct deferves the higheft praife ; for,, although he received little or no gratuity, he treated his patient with great care and tendernefs to the day of his death, which was fome time in 1799. Mr. John Cozens left two etchings, but they are extremely flight, and not very creditable to the artift: one is a loofe reprelentation of the caltle of St. Angelo at Rome ; the other an idea of a Lake. MASON CHAMBERLAIN, n. a. Was employed, in the early part of his life, as a - clerk in .a merchant's counting-houie, but afterwards became the fcholar of Francis Hayman. He refided chiefly in the vicinity of Spitalfields, where he painted portraits with tolerable fuccefs, fome of which poflels * Mr.Beckford had a great number of drawings by this artift, many of which he parted with. They were fold by auftion by Chriftie, of Pall-mall, the fecond week in April, 1805, ninety-four in number, which brought £.510. 4*. One, in particular, fold for twenty guineas. They were chiefly views n the neighbour- hood of Rome, and fome taken from other parts of Italy. 11 great J 22 Anecdotes of Painting. great force and refemblance, as thofe of * Dr, Chandler, and of Mr. Caton the artift, both of which were exhibited. In the latter part of his life, he removed to Bartlett's-build- ings, Holborn, where he did not find that this change of fitua- tion increafed either his fame or practice. When the Royal Academy was founded, he was chofen one of the members. He died in January 1787. There is a half-length portrait of Dr. William Hunter by Chamberlain, in the Council-room of the Royal Academy. This portrait is very like; but there is a great monotony in the tone of colouring, throughout the picture, which renders it not very pleafant. Though he was not qualified to rank as an hiftorical painter, yet he was fufficiently fuccefsful to obtain the fecond premium, given by the Society of Arts, &c. in the fame year that Air. Mortimer obtained the firft, which was in 1764. ARTHUR DEVIS. A native of Prefton in Lancafhire, and the pupil of Peter Tilemans. He painted in a variety of ways, fomeiimcs por- traits in large, but moftly in fmall whole-lengths and converfa- tion pieces. He was an exhibitor at the Society's Rooms in the Strand, in 1761, but never joined either the Chartered Society or the Royal Academy. He lived long in Great * From this piclure there is a very good mezzotinto print, which was pullifhed by Boydell. The original is in the pofi'eflion of the Royal Society. 4 Queen- Aneafates of Painting. Queen-ltreet, Lincoln's-inn-fields, where he fupported the cha- racter of a relpectable artift. .V few years before his death, he was empk repair the Hall of Greenwich Hofpital, for which he received a thoufand pounds. There is a print from a picture that he painted, which is a fmall whole-length portrait, of Mil's C of Copthall, Eriex, who is reprefented fitting at the mouth of a cave, and playing on a guitar. The prm: is engraved Mr. Chamb He died July the 24th, 1757, about 7 Among other children, he left two Ions and a daughter - . Tiie former is a portrait painter, who was for fome time in the Eafi Indies, and is fall living in London. The latt: (s Ellen Devis. is the miitreis of a highly refpe . ung ladies of faihion, and has publHhed a fhort Grammar Englifh la:. _ _ .- the ule of the oger part of her own fex ; which has been much approved. ANTONY DEVI-. Brother to the former. He was for ioz - in confide: reputation as a landfcape painter and drawing-mairer. He lived in Lamb's Conduioitreet, near the Foundling Hospital, but has long retired to Alberry. near Guildford, where 124 Anecdotes of Painting. JOHN ASTLEY. This artift, from the peculiarity of his good fortune, rather than by his exertions as an artift, has obtained a memorial in the * Biographical Hiftory, which appears to have been written by one who was well acquainted with him. He was born at Weram in Shropfhire, and received his early education in the country. His father was in the medical line. When of age to affume a profeffion, he was fent to London, and placed as a pupil under the cafe of Mr. Hudfon. It is not known how long he ftaid with his mafter, but when he left him, he vifited Rome, and was there about the fame time with Sir Jofhua Reynolds. After his return to England, he refided for fome months at a friend's houfe in London, and thence went to Dublin, where he praclifed as a painter for about three years, and in that time acquired three thoufand pounds by his pencil. His next adventure may be narrated in the words of the writer to whom we have alluded: "As he was painting his way " back to London, in his own poft-chaife, with an outrider, he " loitered with a little pardonable vanity in his native neigh- " bourhood, and, vifiting Nutsford aflembly, with another gentle- " man, Lady Daniel, a widow then prefent, was at once ib won " by his appearance, that ihe contrived to fit to him for her por- " trait, and then made him the offer of her hand," a boon which he did not think it prudent to refufe. * Ev Michael Adams, published bv Hogg, in Paterncfter-row. Nt> iLte. The Anecdotes of Painting. The lady, by marriage articles, referred her fortune to her. but Aitievs behaviour ? to her, that fhe foon gave him a portion of her property, and, dving fhortly aft fettled the whole of the Duckenfaeld eftate 'eiiimated at five tboufand per annum) upon him, after the death of her daughter iam Daniel. Aftlev, after the death of his lad v. who was his fenior. li - not in the molt economical manner, and, in a few years, he found his fortune diminilhed ; when, unexpectedly, the daug': of Ladv Daniel died while he was in obit of " the whole in fucceffion to her life. 'The news of th it reached Aftley at midnight, an " hurried inftantly into Chelhire, and, going through all for " took polleffion of the e .nd returned to town before bis " wife's relations knew what happened, or could tafe . ea- " fures thev propoied to counter. .n." After this increafe of fortune, he bought the houfe in Pall- mall, of which Mr. Pennant, in his account of Lond- in the following manner : " In Pall-mall, the Duke of Schomberg had - ^ufe ; it " was in my time poffeiied . . the pai. . iivided * : it into three, and moft whimfically fitted up the centre for " own ule."' He continued a widower for icveral vears. until far advanced in life, when he married a third wife, a young ladv. bv whom left two daughters and a ion. In the decline of . he appeared to flections upon the difiipated c. 126 Anecdotes of Tainting. when near his end, was not without apprehenfions of being reduced to indigence and want. He died at his houie, Ducken- fleld Lodge, Chcfhire, November 14, 1787, and was buried at the church of that village. This gentleman's talents, as an artift, were by no means of an inferior clafs, as the author can atfert from his own knowledge, having feen a half-length portrait of a Mr. Payne, painted by Aftley about the year \75G, to which very few of his cotem- porary artifts could then have produced an equal. But he was not one of thofe who delighted in the art; unlike Gainfborough and Sir Jofhua, he eftimated his pro fern" on only by his gains, and having obtained a fortune, treated all future ftudy with contemptuous negledi. However, he gave fome proofs of good tafte in architectural arrangement, both at his houfe in Pall-mall, in a villa on the terrace at Barnes in Surrey, and alfo at his feat, Duckenfield Lodge, all of which have been mentioned with much applaufe, as being excellent fpecimens of elegant domeftic architecture. It is not the intention of the author to enter into a more minute inveftigation of the character of this favourite of for- tune : He will therefore refer thofe who feek for more, to the examination of the work to which he has alluded; the writer of which concludes by obferving, that Aftley " owed his fortune " to his form, his follies to his fortune." He had a brother, a furgeon of eminence, who refided at putney, and who was unfortunately run over by a waggon, and killed upon Putney Common : His fortune, which was not in- confiderable, devolved on his brother John. Anecdotes of Painting. 127 FRANCIS ZUCCARELLI, r.a. A native of Florence. In the early part of life, he ftudied as an hiflorical painter, but afterwards confined his practice to the painting of landfcape, with fmall figures, in which he ac- quired a very beautiful manner, both of compofing and executing his pictures. It has been remarked, that among the figures which he in- troduced in his landscapes, he frequently reprefented one with a gourd bottle at his waift, as is often feen in Italy. This is faid to have been done intentionally, as a fort of pun on his own name, zucco being the Italian word for a gourd. At what time he came into England is not exactly known *, but the following anecdote may ferve to afcertain, that it was not till after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle; for, as he was travelling on the Continent, upon the territories of one of the belligerent ftates, he was detained as a fufpicious peribn. but obtained his releafe with honour, by the following candid and ingenuous appeal to thole who detained him. After declaring his proieiiion and name, both of which he confidered as fufficiently known, he offered to prove the truth of his aflertion, by painting a picture, provided the neceflary materials were allowed him : His propoial was granted, and his veracity was confirmed by the production of his pencil, and he was confequently releafed. * Since writing the above, the author has been informed, that he came to England in October 1752. In 128 Anecdotes of Painting. In England, he met with much encouragement, and feveral of his pictures were engraved by Vivares. By the advice of fome of his friends, he executed a collection of drawings, which he difpofed of by auction. They were well received, and pro- duced a handfome mm. About the year 17 73, he returned to Florence, where he chiefly refided, and where he was fettled in 1775. Being far advanced in life, he relinquifhed the pencil, and lived upon the fortune he had acquired; but a few years after, he was difappoinied in his future property, by the* Emperor's diffolu- tion of a monaftery, on the fecurity of which he had advanced money. This circumltance obliged him to refume his pencil, and he obtained much employ from the Englifh gentlemen who vifited Italy. He died at Florence ; at what time is not exactly known, but the event was confirmed to the Royal Academy in 1788. It is laid that he was born in 1710. At the foundation of the Royal Academy, he was chofen among thofe who were confidered as founders of that inftitu- tion. The pictures of this artift have infinite merit, particularly thofe which he painted in the early part of his life, when refident at Venice. The productions of his latter days in Eng- land, are certainly inferior to the former, being lefs harmonious in the colouring, and too theatrical in the compofition, to admit of being compared with his more early performances, * This was the Emperor Jofeph the Second, who afcended the imperial throne in 1765. many Anecdotes of Painting. 129 many of which are moft excellent. He made feveral etchings, particularly of figures, from the originals of Andrea de'l Sarto. They are marked with his name, Zuccarelli delin. et fecit. About the year 1759, he painted afet of deligns for tapeftries, which were executed in the manufactory of* Paul Saunders, the upholfterer, who, at that time, poffefled a patent as Tapeftry Weaver to His Majefty. They were wrought for the late Earl of Egremont, to decorate fome part of the house which he built in Piccadilly. THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH, e.a. The high degree of fame, which this gentleman acquired, by his fuperior powers in art, induced fome of his furviving acquaintance to record anecdotes of their deceafed friend, whofe lasting fame, they well knew would refcue their own names from oblivion. Among this clafs of writers, may be noticed P. Thicknefs, Elq. who, foon after the death of the artift, publifhed a fmall octavo pamphlet, entitled, "A Sketch of the Life and Paintings " of Mr. Gainfborough \ ;" from which whimfical work, as alfo from fome which have been publifhed by other perfons, feveral of the following anecdotes are felected, the truth of which have been confirmed by unquestionable authority. • Yeoman Arras Worker and Arras Taylor. t Printed for the author, and fold by Fores, Piccadilly, 1788. 3 This 130 Anecdotes of Tainting. This excellent artift was born in 1727, at Sudbury in Suffolk. His father was a clothier in that town, and Thomas was the youngeft of three fons. At a proper age he was fent to London, and placed under the tuition of Mr. Hayman *, with whom he, however, liaid but a fhort time. After quitting his mafter, he for fome time refided in Hatton-garden, and practifed paint- ing of portraits of a fmall fize, and alfo purfued his favourite fubjeel:, landfcape. After rending a fhort time in London, he married a young lady, who poffefTed an annuity of two hundred pounds, and then retired to Ipfwich in Suffolk, where he became acquainted with Mr. Thicknefs, at that time deputy-governor of Land- guard Fort, who boafts, in his pamphlet, of having been one of his firft patrons. From Ipfwich, Gainfborough removed to Bath, where he fettled about the year 1758, and began his career as a portrait painter, at the low price of five guineas, for a three-quarter canvas ; however, his great facility in producing a likenefs, increafed his employment and fame, and he foon raifed his price from five to eight guineas. At Bath he refided for feveral years, chiefly in the Circus, occafionally fending his works to the Exhibition in London, which he did, for the firft time, in 1761. * Mr. Gainsborough received his firft instructions in the rudiments of art from Mr. Gravelot, a circumftance net generally known, but which was lately confirmed to the author by that excellent artift, Mr. C. Grignon, the engraver, who was intimately acquainted with the painter in his youth. In {^^^jgj^ 1 . ' ;.- ' .; ■ -; smm T.&ainjipTvuab /)e/.' I. Gairvbnvi 'ft /),/ II'F'IV.//' ■mil,, 1 s„ ; '/n //,■ (%zaena/#n //<■ /r 4tcfans// j- -rrf///r / A necdotes of Painting. \ 3 1 Li 1774, he quitted Bath and fettled in London, in a part of that large houfe, in Pali-mall, which was originally built by the Duke de Sch.omberg. In this refpeclable fituation, poffeffed of fame, and in the acquifition of fortune, he was dillurbed by a complaint in his neck, which was not much noticed upon the firil attack, nor was it apprehended to be more than a fwelling in the glands of the throat, which it was expected would fubfide in a fhort time; but it was foon difcovered to be a cancer, which baffled the fkill of the firft. medical profeffors. Finding the danger of his fituation, he fettled his affairs, and compofed himfelf to meet the fatal moment, and calmly expired on the 2d of Augufl 1788, in the fixty-firft -year of his age, and was buried accord- ing to his own requeft, near the remains of his former friend, Mr. Kirby, in Kevv Church-yard. His funeral was attended by the following refpe&able Gentlemen, Sir J. Reynolds, Sir Wil- liam Chambers, Mr. P. Sandby, Mr. Weft, Mr. Bartolozzi, and Mr. Samuel Coates, who attended as pall-bearers ; his nephew, Mr. Gainfborough Dupont, being chief mourner. He left two daughters, the elder of whom married Mr. Fifcher, the mufician. To form a juft eftimate of Mr. Gainfborough 's character as a man, is by no means eafy, for he was capricious in his manners, and rather fickle and unfteady in his focial connections. This Mas fufficiently evinced by his general condu6l towards the members of the Royal Academy, and by his whimfical be- haviour to Sir Jofh.ua Reynolds. When the Royal Academy was founded, he was chofen among the firft. members, but, being then refident at Bath, he was too far s 2 diftanl 132 A necdotes of Painting . diftant to be employed in the bufinefs of the inftitution, When be came to London, his conduct was not very refpectful towards the members of that body, for he never attended to their invitations, whether official or convivial. In the year 1784, he fent to the Royal Academy, among other pictures for exhibition, a whole-length portrait, which he ordered to be placed alrnolt as low *as the floor ; but as this would have been a violation of the bye-laws of the Aca- demy, the Gentlemen of the Council ventured to remonftrate with him upon the impropriety of fuch a difpofition. Gainf- borough was not one of thofe men who fubmitted to be thwarted in his humour, and he returned for anfwer, that if they did not chufe to hang the picture as he wimed, they might fend it back. This they did immediately. He foon after made an exhibition of his works at his own houfe, which did not, however, afford the expected gratification. After this cir- cumftance, he never again exhibited. Among his amufements, mufic was almofl as much his favourite as painting. This paffion led him to cultivate the intimacy of all the great mufical profeffors of his time, and they, by their abilities, obtained an afcendancy over him, greater than was perhaps confident with ftrift prudence. Of his powers in the fcience, no better defcription can be given, than what has been already written by that able mufician, Mr. Jackfon * of Exeter, who, in one of his publications, has furniihed fome plea- * Mr. Jackfou had alfo a good tafte for painting; and, in 1772, exhibited, at the Royal Academy, a landfcape of his own defign. fant Anecdotes of Painting. 133 fant anecdotes of his friend, from which the following extract is fe'lected : " Gainfborough's profeffion was painting, mufic was his " amufement. Yet there were times when mufic feemed to be " his employment, and painting his diverfion. As his fkill in " mufic has been celebrated, I will, before I fpeak of him as a " painter, mention what degree of merit he pofieffed as a " mufician. " When I firft knew him he lived at Bath, where Giardini " had been exhibiting his then unrivalled powers on the violin ; " his excellent performance made Gainiborough enamoured of " that inflrument, and conceiving, like the fervant maid in the " Spectator, that the mufic lay in the fiddle, he was frantic " until he pofteffed the very injtrument which had given him " fo much pleafure, but feemed furprized, that the mufic of it " remained behind with Giardini. " He had fcarcely recovered this mock, (for it was a great " one to him) when he heard Abel on the viol-di-gamba; " the violin was hung on the willows. Abel's viol-di-gamba " was purchafed, and the houfe refounded with melodious " thirds and fifths, from morn till dewy eve. Fortunately " my friend's paflion had now a frefh object, Fifcher's haut- " boy! " The next time I faw Gainfborough, it was in the character " of King David ; he had heard a performer on the harp at " Bath; the performer was foon left harplefs. " In this manner he frittered away his mufical talents, and " though poflefTed of ear, tafle, and genius, he never had appli- '* cation 1 34 A necdotes of Painting . " cation enough to learn his notes; he fcorned to take the firit " ftep, the fecond was, of courfe, out of his reach, and the " fummit became unattainable. " His coil venation was fprightly, but licentious ; his Fa- " vourite fubjeets were mufic and painting, which he treated " in a manner peculiarly his own ; the common topics, or any " of a fuperior caft, he thoroughly hated, and always inter- " rupted by fome ftroke of wit or humour." However frivolous or ehildiih his conduct might be in his mulical purfuits, yet he was fteady and manly in the profe- cution of excellence in his own art, though not without fome degree of that caprice, peculiar to his character. As an artift, his talents were unqueftionably of the firfl clafs, whether he be confidered as a painter of portraits, of landfcapes, or of fancy pieces. In landfcapes, his powers were great and ver- fatile, infomuch that no perfon, who is not well acquainted with his different works, could fuppofe, that the pictures of his youth are the productions of the fame man who painted thofe of his latter days. This difference, however, is not occafioned by the inferiority of the former, when compared with the latter, but by adiftinct manner of execution, and, above all, by a variation in their ftyle or choice of fubject. In his early landfcapes, every part is copied from the detail of nature, with fimple effect and artlefs defcription, fomething in the ftyle of Ryfdale. In his latter works, bold effecl, great breadth of form, with little variety of parts, united by a judi- cious management of light and made, combine to produce a certain degree of folemnity. This folemnity, though linking, is not Anecdotes of Painting. 135 not eafily accounted for, when the fimplicity of the materials is confidered, which feldom reprefent more than a itony bank, with a few trees, a pond, and fome diftant hills, relembling thofe fcenes which are found in the vicinity of Bath*. In his fancy pictures he much excelled his portraits, particu- larly in the execution of the heads of the figures ; yet, in all there appears a fingular procefs, from an indeterminate man- ner of hatching and fcumbling the features, which leaves the face with an unfinilhed appearance: Indeed all his portraits, it mull be allowed, convey the idea, that the artift, who painted them, was fearful of lofing the likenefs which he had obtained, and therefore did not fmifli the head. This defective procefs is moll whimfically accounted for, and even commended by an anonymous writer in the Gentleman's Magazine f, from which the following extract is taken. " He gives the feature and the ihadow, fo that it is fome- " times not eafy to fay which is which; for the fcumbling " about the feature fometimes looks like feature itfelf, fo that " he (hews the face in more points of view than one, and, by " that means, it flrikes every one that has feen the original, " that it is a refemblance ; and while the portrait, with a rigid * Mr. Gainfborough was in the habit of making what might be called models for landfcapes, which he effected by laying together ftones, bits of looking glafs, fmall boughs of trees, and other fuitable objects, which he con- trived to arrange, fo as to furnilh him with ideas and fubje&s for his rural pictures. Upon this practice, Sir Joflma very juftly obferves, that fuch " me- " thods may be nothing more than mifchievous trifling, or they may be aids, " according to the general talent of him who ufes it." f For Auguft 1788, in the Obituary Lift. " outline, 1 36 -A nccdotcs of Painting. " outline, exhibits the countenance only in one difpofition of " mind, his gives it in many." In oppofition to the foregoing injudicious attempt to praife that which is rather reprovable, we may offer the mafterly com- ments of * Sir Jofhua Reynolds, who, in one of his difcourfes, has very happily palliated the objections that have been made againft the peculiarity of Gainfborough's manner or procefs of painting, in the following terms f: " It is certain, that all thofe odd fcratches and marks which, " on a clofe examination, are fo obfervable in Gainfborough's " pictures, and which, even to experienced painters, appear " rather the effecl; of accident than defign ; this chaos, this " uncouth and fhapelefs appearance, by a kind of magic, at a 11 certain diftance, affumes form, and all the parts feem to " drop into their proper places; fo that we can hardly re- " fufe acknowledging the full effect of diligence under the " appearance of chance and hafty negligence. That Gairif- " borough himfelf confidcred this peculiarity in his manner, " and the power it poffeffes in exciting furprife, as a beauty " in his works, may be inferred from the eager defire, Which " we know he always exprefled, that his pictures at the Exhi- " bition ihould be feen near, as well as at a diftance." * In the December, which fucceeded the death of Mr. Gainfborough, Sir Jofhua Reynolds, on prefenting the gold medals to the fuccefsful ftudents of the Royal Academy, delivered alio a difcourfe, in which he introduced a very ex- cellent critique upon the'abilities and productions ot ~Mr. Gainfborough. •j- See D fcourfe the 14th, page 307, &c. in Mr. Malone's quarto edition of the Works and Life of Sir Jofhua Reynolds, publilhed by Cadell and Davies, 1797- c . Sir - aua again, in a fucceedii. _ ; may be laid to mm up tii i s matter li . . lm in t he folio wir . g -aph : • : It is prefuppofed, that in this indetermined manner, there '•' is the general . enough to remind the fpectator of the •' original ; the imagination fupplies the reft, and perhaps '•' more lV to .. :. if not more ..an the •'•' artift, with all his care, could poffibly have done ; a: the ~uae •'•' time, it mult be acknowi Ig :ne evil attending " this mode, th^: if the port:: •'•' knowledge of the a '., different perfons would form dif- ferent ideas, and all would be difappointed at not finding •'•' the original correlpond with their or lions, under the '• great latitude which indiftin-::. _.- _;ves to the imagination '•' to ailume almolr what character or form it plea To this judicious : m, it would be vain to attempt addition, we lhall therefore only obferve, :hat, while it dilplays S Jofhoa's accu: gn in art, it alio demonltrates his as an artut, and his power of difcrimi- nating the peculiari: Bed the prod a of his es. It has already been observed, that Gainfborongh was capri- cious in his behaviour, a circumliance in his i ...ch was well known to a ends and acquaintance, and which is lirongly indicated a tioned by M Malone. •• Soon after Mr. Gamfltorongh :"r::'ed in London, So '• Jothua Reynolds thought himielf bound m o pay ■ him a v fit. Th - not the ksnfi T 138 Anecdotes of Painting. " notice of him for feveral years, but at length called on him, " and requeiied him to fit for his picture. Sir Joiliua complied, " and fat once to that artift ; but being foon afterwards taken " ill, he was obliged to go to Bath for his health. On his re- " turn to London, perfectly reftored, he fent Gainiborough " word, that he was returned; Gainiborough, who was ex- " tremely capricious, only replied, that he was glad to hear that " Sir Jofhua Reynolds Avas well, and he never afterwards de- " fired Sir Jothua to fit, nor had any other intercourfe with " him, till Gainhborough was dying, when he fent to requeft " to fee him, and thanked him for the very liberal and favour- " able manner in which he had always fpoken of his works." This latter circumftance was noticed by Sir Jofhua in his four- teenth difcourfe. This affair feems to indicate, that Gainf- borough, at his death, yielded the palm of fuperiority to Sir Jofhua as an artift, though he could not, during life, connect himfelfas the intimate or friend of the man whom he confidered as a rival in his profeffion. Mr. Gainfborough left a great number of drawings, which he had made during his leifure moments. Thefe productions, like his pictures, may be divided in two diftinct claffes, both as to the choice of fubject, and the manner of their execution. In the firft clafs, are thofe which he made in his youth, at which time he was attentive to rural fcenery - 3 and feveral of thefe early drawings poflefs a peculiar freedom of execution, accompanied by a judieious attention to the minutiae of nature, that is not furpaffed by any productions of the Flemifh mailers 15 in A necdotes of Pain ting. 1 39 in the fame line of art ; thefe were moftly in black lead, and fome in black Italian chalk. The fecond clafs confided of thofe which he executed after he fettled at Bath, where he adopted a very different manner, both of ftyle and execution, the fubjecls being more romantic in their compofition, and their execution more indeterminate, and (if the expreffion may be allowed) more licentious than thofe of the former clafs. Thefe laft were executed by a procefs rather capricious, truly deferving the epithet beftowed upon them by a witty lady, who called them moppings. Many of thefe were in black and white, which colours were applied in the following manner : a fmall bit of fponge tied to a bit of ftick, ferved as a pencil for the fhadows, and a fmall lump of whiting, held by a pair of tea-tongs was the inflru- ments by which the high lights were applied ; befide thefe, there were others in black and white chalks, India ink, bifter, and fome in a fight tint of oil colours ; with thefe various materials, he ftruck out a vaft number of bold, free fketches of landfcape and cattle, all of which have a molt captivating effect to the eye of an artift, or connoiffeur of real tafte. In the fpring following Mr. Gainfborough's death, an Exhibi- tion* was made, at his houfe in Pall-mall, of his pictures and drawings. Of the former there were fifty-fix; of the latter, one hundred and forty eight ; befides which there were feveral pictures of the Flemifh and other mafters, which he had collected during his life-time. They were announced for fale, and their * The price of admiflion one (hilling, t z prices 140 Anecdotes of Painting. prices marked in the catalogue, and feveral were fold. Some time after, the whole remaining collection was fold by auction at Chriftie's, and brought good prices. It would be vain to attempt enumerating the pictures which this artift painted, yet the following fhort lift may not be unen- tertaining or ufelefs to the reader. A whole-length Portrait of a young. Gentleman, in a Vandyck drefs, which picture obtained the title of the Blue Boy * from the colour of the fatin in which the figure is dieffed. It is not exaggerated praife to fay, that this portrait might Hand among thofe of Vandyck. It is now in the poffeffion of Mr. Hoppner, R. A. A Shepherd Boy with his Dog, looking up, and crouching under a Bank to avoid a ftorm : The fize a half-length. A whole-length portrait of Mr. Gio. Chrif. Fifcher, the once- celebrated performer on the hautboy. He is reprefented as leaning on a harpfichord, his hautboy and a violin, with other objects, which are uncommonly well painted «f , lying near him. A whole-length of Mr, Frederick Abel, the late excellent per- former on the viol-da-gamba. The Rev. D. Bate Dudley, whole-length. A Cottage Girl, with young Pigs feeding out of a Pan of Milk. The pigs are uncommonly well painted, almoft deceptions. * This was the portrait of a Matter Brutal], whofe father was then a very con- fiderable ironmonger, in Greek-ftreet, Soho. f This picture was for feveral months expofed for fale in the fhop of a pidure- dealer, in Catherine-ftreet, in the Strand. Two Anecdotes of Painting. 141 Two Shepherd Boys with their Dogs fighting, whole-length. A Woodman, with his Dog, in a ftorm, (landing by a tree, whole-length. He painted the portraits of Mr. Garrick and Mr. Foote, but did not fucceed in their likeneffes according to his wifhes, and humouroufly excufed himfelf for his failure, by obferving, that .r Robert Strange, in 1703. both. j 52 Anecdotes of Tainting. both accounts, that the fcholar was received by his mafter as a friend, rather than as a pupil. It is not known to what department of art his ftudies were directed while at Rome, but he acquired fo much notice from his countrymen who vifited that city, that, upon his return to England in 1737, he found both his character and reception to be very favourable to his future profpecls in life. Yet his fuccefs was by no means equal to his hopes, or the expectations of his friends. Whatever were his views while in Italy, he had not attended to that line of art which can alone enfure lucrative employment to the painter in this country, namely, portraiture : the confequence was, that he foon found himfelf in circumftances by no means affluent, fo that after having ftruggled for fome years againfl a train of difficulties, he quitted the profeffion, and fettled with his brother *, at that time in polTeffion of the patrimonial eltate, who received him with great kindnefs. They lived fome years together, till the death of the elder left Mr. Giles Huffey, as the next, in full polfeffion of Marnhull. After refiding fome time upon his native foil as the lafl fur- viving heir of his brother, he retired to Bearfton, near Ambur- ton, in Devonfliire, the refidence of one of his nephews, to whom he refigned the eilate at Marnhull. In this fituation he amufed himfelf with the cultivation of a fmall garden, in which, while he was digging, he dropped down fuddenly, and expired, in the year 178S. * His youngeft brother was a Benedictine, and fettled at Marlborough upon the Miflion, where he died before his elder brother Giles. As Anecdotes of Painting. 153 As this gentleman has been frequently eonfidered a perfon whofe talents were not properly encouraged, but on the con- trary experienced that neglect, which has become a national reproach, it cannot be improper to offer fome obfervations on his works as an artift, and alfo to note fome of his peculiarities as a man ; efpecially as thofe obfervations may in fome degree account for that neglect which he experienced, and which drove him from his purfuit, at a time of life in which his facul- ties were by no means impaired either by age or infirmity. At the time Mr. Huffey began his iludies as a painter, the arts in England had but (lender claims to notice ; and though there were feveral men then living, who gave convincing proofs of poffeffing flrong natural abilities, yet the fafhion (if it may be fo called) both for ftudy and practice was fo loofe and care- lefs, that corre6tnefs or purity of outline appear to have been whollv neglected. This defective mode of ftudy feems to have impreffed the mind of Mr. Huffey with a refolution to avoid that error, fo deftruclive to all excellence in painting; but, as too often is the cafe with many, in avoiding one evil he fell into the contrary ex- treme, and from great careleffnefs he fhrunk into dry infipidity. In his drawings we find an elaborate attempt at purity of outline, with extremely neat finifhing, indicating great patience, but exhibiting few marks of the matter, or even a real knowledge of the human figure; yet, as there was uncommon neatnefs in his drawings, the novelty met with much applaufe from thofe, who miftake labour for fcience, and patience for erudition. As this artift's drawings are not frequently met with, it may X not 1 54 Anecdotes of Painting. not be in the power of thofe who confult this work, to afcer tain whether the foregoing character be or be not juft ; therefore to enable them to form fome judgment of Mr. Huil'ey's powers, or at leaft of his turn of mind in the purfnit of his profeffion, the following dei'cription of one of his drawings, which the author has feen, may not be unacceptable : It is a portrait of the old Chevalier de St. George, which he drew from the life, a profile the fize of nature, and although fo large was drawn in red chalk, hatched in fine ftrokes with infinite care and labour. There certainly can be no impro- priety in afferting, that fuch a petit procefs, when applied to a portrait * of fuch magnitude, does by no means indicate a mind fufficiently vigorous to produce any very great efforts in art. As Huffey had acquired a high character as an artift, fo he obtained a refpectable patronage, particularly from the late Matthew Dunne, Efq. and the then Duke of Northumberland. The latter offered to receive him into his family, and to give him a handfome penfion, with the attendance of a fervant, upon condition that Huffey mould employ his talents chiefly for the Duke, but yet be at liberty to exert himfelf in favour of any other gentleman who might occafionally employ him. This offer he rejected, becaufe the Duke did not comply with the further requeft, of keeping a Prieji for him in the houfe. Mr. * In the Spring of 1804, n. drawing of his, in red chalk, was fold at Meifrs. Leigh and Sotheby's. It was about half the lize of life, and was drawn with great labour and care, in a manner better fuited to the practice of an engraver than a painter. It appeared to be the portrait of the laft Prince Charles w hen young. Huffey Anecdotes of Tainting. 155 Hufley was ftrongly attached to the Church of Rome, and with a confiderable degree of bigotry, as is acknowledged by thofe who were well acquainted with him. The foregoing anecdote is, in fome degree, corroborated by Mr. Barry, in his letter before mentioned : We mail therefore give the following extract from that work, in which is given an account of a converfation, which Mr. Barry had with the Duke concerning Mr. Hufley : — " His Grace told me as a matter " he could not account for, that he had once propofed to Mr. " Hufley an employment which he thought would be perfectly " agreeable ; which was, to make drawings, large as the ori«-i- " nals, of all the celebrated antique ftatues ; that he would build " a gallery to place them in; but that Mr. Hufley refufed." We perfectly agree with Mr. Barry, who, in his reply to the Duke, obferved, " that he was not furprifed at Mr. Hufley's de- " dining fuch a propofal; that it was to be expected from a " man, who had been forming himfelf upon thofe antiques, in " order to acquire abilities for the production of other, and " original works, in which opportunities might occur of dif- ft puting for the palm of excellence, with thofe very antiques " themfelves." Though there is fome difference in the foregoing accounts but no contradiction, on the fubjeel of employment they both agree ; and it is curious to remark, that the refufal of the artift, mentioned in the firft, was as capricious, as the offer of his Grace, in the fecond, was whimfical : for what can be more x 2 whimfical 156 Anecdotes of Painting. whimhcal than the idea of drawings, from the Laocoon, or any other of the antique figures, as large as the originals ? Such Coloffal productions, by the procefs of drawing only, would be rather difgufting even to the eye of a Scientific fpeclator, and the labour and time, neceffaiily confumed by fuch productions, would require a long life. It may be inferred from the nature of the forementioned pro- posal, that his Grace did not confider the artift as a painter, but as a draughtfman; and indeed he was fcarcely ever fpoken of but under that character. Of his paintings, there are very few to be found ; one is in the collection of his Grace, the fubjecl; of which is '•' Bacchus and Ariadne." The fame noble Peer is alfo in poffeflion of many of his drawings, and the late Mr. Duane had a larce collection of them, which were fold after his deceafe. There are fome prints after his drawings, but the author recollects only two, which are both by Bartolozzi : The fubjecl of the largeft, is the Woman taken in Adultery, after a picture of L. Carracci, which was in the Zampieri palace at Bologna : The other is the Head of Jupiter Dodomeus, from an antient coin. The drawings, from which thefe engravings were made, are in red chalk, finilhed with extreme neatnefs, according to his general practice. As by his religious principles he was ftrongly attached to the Chevalier, he drew a great number of portraits of that perfon, all of which were executed by the procefs already de- fcribed. He alfo painted miniature of the latter kind. There is a portrait An. ' Painting. 1 a portrait of himielf at War d our Caitle, where he frequently I which is laid to be an excellent performac; By the belt accounts that have been hitherto given of 'ernan, it appears he was peculiar in his opinions, taftidious 1.1 his manners and by much too minute in the inveftigation of the principle- -art. By thefe means he was led ir.to metaphyseal inqu: that tempted him to adopt theories, which however ingn (s to him in the c on of his pro- I ough he underiiood nothing of mufic, yet he ado: thr antient hypothecs of mufical, or harmonic proportions, as ning principle of beauty, in all forms produced bv art and even by na: It is by no means on or the buJinels of the author, to attempt an ... - □ of this propoation : It is fame to obferve. that the artnt who oe amufed, and entangled, by fuch chimerical inquiries, will probablv increafe his vanity rather than in. icience, and will be more likely to talk with confidence, than to exec GEORGE FARINGTON, Deleended from an ancient fan: ... Lancafhire, was fourth (on of the Rev. William Farina: : . s d. rector of Warrington, and vicar of Leigh, i:: soonty He 15S Anecdotes of Painting. recieved his firft instructions as an artilt from his brother : prefent one of the Royal Academicians ; but his inclinations leading him to the Study of historical painting, he acquired farther alhriance as a painter from Mr. Weft. He was for fome time employed by the late Alderman Boydell, for whom he executed Several very excellent drawings, after man} of the capital pictures which at that time formed the collection at Houghton. He ftudied long in the Royal Academy, and obtained a iilver medal in 1779; and in the year 1780, obtained the gold medal for the belt hiltorical picture — the Subject of which was, the Cauldron Scene in Macbeth. In 1782 he left England, and went to the Eaft Indies, being induced to undertake that voyage by fomre advantageous offers. I11 India he painted many pictures, but his principal under- taking was a large work, representing the Durbar, or Court of the Nabob, at Merlhoodabad. Whillt employed on this work, he imprudently expoled himfelf to the night air, to obferve fome ceremonies of the natives, in order to complete a feries of draw- ings begun for that purpole ; when he was Suddenly Seized with a complaint, which, in a few days, unfortunately terminated his life in the year 1788, at the age of 34. JEREMIAH MEYERS, b. a. Born at Tubingen, in the Duchy of Wirtemburg. He came to England when 14 years old, in company with his .father, who was jrJlre&er&n / XlOTARD Frederick Zikcke A necdotes of Pain ting . 150 was a painter of fmall fubje6ts, of no great talent. The foil purfued miniature painting, and ftudied under Zink, who at that time was defervedly efteemed, particularly for his miniatures in enamel ; but Meyers furpafled his matter, in the elegance and gufto of his portraits, a fuperiority, which he acquired by his attention to the works of Sir Jolhua Reynolds, who, as well as himfelf, was at that time rifing to fame. In the year 1761, the Society for the Encouragement of Arts offered a premium of twenty guineas for the beft drawing of a profile of the king, for the purpofe of having a die engraved from it, and Meyers obtained the prize. He was afterwards ap- pointed miniature painter to the queen. He wrought both in enamel and water-colours, and had no competitor until Mr. Humphry, in the latter procefs, produced fome performances of exquifite merit ; but as that gentleman foon quitted miniature painting, he left Mr. Meyers without a rival in his department. Mr. Meyers was many years a member of the Academy in St. Martin's-lane, and at the inftitution of the Royal Academy he was chofen one of the founders. He long refided in Covent Garden ; but at the latter part of his life he retired to Kew, where he died January 20, 1789, and was buried there. The following epitaph was written by Mr. Hayley.* It has at leaft the merit of being appropriate to the character and pro- feffion of the perfon for whom it is intended as a memorial, * There are alfo fome complimentary lines to Mr. Meyers by the fame au- thor in his Elfay on Painting. — Ep. 2d. but 1 60 A necdotes of Pain ting. but, as a fpecimen of poetical compofition, it certainly cannot claim fuperlative praife. Meyers, in thy works the world will ever fee How great the lofs of Art in lofing thee ! But love and forrow find their words too weak, Nature's keen fufferings on thy death to fpeak. Through all her duties, what a heart was thine, In this cold duft what fpirit ufed (o fhine ? Fancy and truth, and gaiety and zeal, What raoft we love in life, and lofing feel. Age after age may not one Arfift yield, Equal to thee in painting's nicer field, And ne'er (hall forrowing earth to heaven commend A fonder parent, or a truer friend. -VESPRE. Of this name there were two perfons, the one named Victor, the other Francis Xavier ; but whether they were related is unknown to the author ; though it is probable they were bro- thers, as they lodged together for fome time in St. Martin's- lane. One of thefe perfons had pictures in the firft exhibition, but as the furname only is given in the catalogue, it is not known which was the exhibitor at that period. Victor painted fruit-pieces on glafs. Francis executed portraits in oil-colours, crayons, and miniature, and alfo executed fome plates in imitation of warned drawings, by theprocefs of aquatinta. Vidor A nccdotes of Painting. 161 Vi6tor was fome time in Dublin. Francis continued to exhibit in London until the year 1789; after which his name no more appears as an exhibitor. HUGH BARRON. A fcholar of Sir Jofliua Reynolds. He was born in London, where his father was of the medical profeffion, who in the latter part of his life was apothecary to the Weftminfter Difpenfary, in Gerard-ftreet, Soho. When Hugh quitted Sir Jofliua, he ttayed fome time in London, and praclifed as a portrait painter; but went to Italy about 1773, and as he made the trip by fea, he ftopt fome time at Lifbon, where he painted feveral por- traits. Mr. Barron was in Rome in 1776, but returned about two years after, and fettled in Leicefter-fields, where he refided a few years. When he was a boy at the * drawing-fchool, he made great promife of future excellence, but like many others failed in the accomplifhment. His powers in painting were but feeble, though in mufic, particularly in the practical part, he was eminent, and was confidered as the belt amateur performer of his time on the violin. He died in the latter part of the fummer of 1 79 1 , about forty-five years of age. * His firft rudiments in drawing were obtained under the tuition of Fournier, who kept a drawing-fohoo!, and alio taught perfpective ; and who in the year 1764, publifhed a treatife upon that feience, which is rather a copy of Mr. Kirby's quarto publication, than an original production. Y His 162 Anecdotes of Painting. His pictures were but feeble imitations of the works of his mailer, and his employment was more owing to his mulical talents than to his merits as a painter. WILLIAM AUGUSTUS BARRON, Younger brother to the preceding artift, was a pupil to Mr. Tomkins, who is mentioned in another part of this work- He painted landscape, and alfo taught drawing. Being a good amateur performer on the violincello, he was introduced to the late Sir Edward "Walpole, the Clerk of the Pells, who gave him a fituation in the Exchequer, which he ftill enjoys, having long quitted his profeffion. There are fcveral things of his hand ; the largefl are a fet of Views of Caftles, and other fubjecls taken in different parts of Effex. — The fize of the plates 12 in. ^ by 8 in. ^. Six of fmaller dimenfions; they are compofitions, or rather compila- tions, chiefly after Chatelain. There is. alfo a view of "Wanfted-houfe, Effex, which was engraved by Picot. It is dedicated to Sir Jofhua Reynolds, and is dated 1775, the original drawing of which was made by that artift. WILLIAM Anecdotes of Painting. 163 WILLIAM PARRY, a. Born in London, was the fon of Parry, the celebrated blind performer on the Welfh-harp.* He received his fir ft inftrucYions as an artift in Shipley's drawing-fchool ; from thence he removed to the Duke of Rich- mond's gallery, and afterwards became a pupil to Sir Joihua Reynolds; about which time he alfo entered the Academy of St. Martin's-lane. He was then confidered as a young man of very confiderable promife in bis profellion. He obtained from the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. feveral premiums for drawings, both from the Gelfes in the Duke of Richmond's gallery, and alfo for Academy figures after the life. He certainly drew well, but was too much elated by the praifes he received, and rather too languid in his ftudies, in confequence of pofleffing the patronage and favour of the late Sir Watkin Williams Wynne, Bart. When Mr. Parry left Sir Jofliua, he pra&ifed for a fhort time in the neighbourhood of Winftay. In 1770 he went to Italy, fent thither by the friendfhip of Sir Watkin, who in a very liberal manner encouraged his ftudies, and for whom Parry executed a copy of the Transfiguration of Raphael, at that time in the church of St. Pietro, in Montorio. * This perfon, though blind, was remarkable for his (kill in playing at draughts, in which few or none could excel him. He was alfo the beft performer of his time upon the Welfh-harp. y 2 He 164 Anecdotes of Painting. He returned to London in the fummer of 1775, and foon after married the only daughter of Keene, the arc hit eft, men- tioned in another part of this work. He then fettled in Duke-ftreet, St. James's, but not meeting with the employment he expefted, and fome unpleafant cir- cumftances happening in his wife's family, through the impro- vidence of her elder brother, he retired to Wales, Oftober 1778, where about a year after he loft his wife, who died in child-bed. Upon this he determined to revifit Rome, whither he foon after went, leaving an only fon to the care of his brother. "At Rome he found employment fufiieient to add to the com- forts, which he poffeffed by the fmall fortune he had acquired by marriage, and he there began a fmall copy from the Lait Judg- ment of Michael Angelo, which he did not live to finifh ; for he found his health decline, and being told that he would leave his bones to Caius Ceftius, he was * determined, if poflible, to avoid it. He therefore fet off for London, and arrived early in the year 1791, juft in time to clofe the laft fcene on his native foil, and died on the 13th of February, about 4 ) years of age. When at the Duke of Richmond's, he drew a view of the Gallery, with many of the figures, in which he alfo introduced * On the eaft fide of Rome {lands a pyramid, the only one in Europe ; it was erected as a tomb to contain the alhes of Caius Ceftius, who was prefect of the Epulones. The field or paddock before this tomb, and within the walls of the city, is appropriated for the burying-place of thofe Proteftants who die at Rome. It is therefore become proverbial to fay of one who is in bad health, and not a Catholic; that " he will leave his bones to Caius Ceftius." fome V Anecdotes of Painting. 165 fome portraits, particularly one of the Duke's porters: This drawing was executed in black and white chalk, upon filk paper, and had coniiderable merit, and would certainly be conlidered as a curiofity at this time it being the only repre- sentation of the place ; but it is not known how it was difpofed of, or whether it be now in exiftence. lie was chofen an affociate of the Royal Academy, November 1776. There is a fmall etching by his hand, the fize of a card ; it is the portrait of his father playing on the harp, an exact like- nefs. It was done as a ticket of admittance to a morning con- cert, for the old gentleman's benefit, held at Ilickford's room, Brewer-ftreet, and is, I believe, the only engraved Jikenefs of this celebrated performer, but extremely fcarce. RICHARD PATON. Of this artiil's early hiftory, little or nothing can be known; but the author was told by* Mr. Williams, that he was born in fo low a fphere of life, that Sir Charles Knowles took him out to fea, having found him a poor boy on Tower-hill. How, or whether, he ever received any inftruclions in the ufe of the pencil is equally unknown with the hiftory of his early * Mr. Williams was a natural fon of Sir John Williams, Surveyor of the Navy: He was a pupil of Ryland, theengraver, and an exhibitorin 1771 ; but was after- wards appointed Cierk of the Cheek, at Chatham, where he died about the year 1799- days j i66 Anecdotes of Painting. days; yet it is certain, that as a lhip painter he produced fome good pictures, as may be feen by fome of his performances in the Council Room, at Guildhall, which were presented to the city by the late Alderman Boydtll. Among them is a view of the Lord Mayor's Shew, by water, the figures in which were painted by Wheatly. About the year 1774, he finillied a fet of pictures, reprefent- ing the naval victory which the Ruffian Admiral, Count Orloff, obtained over the Turks, in Chefeme-bay, 0:1 the 7th of July 1770; when the Turkilh fleet was burnt and destroyed. The figures in thefe pictures were painted by Mr. Mortimer. He alfo painted fome \iews of the Dock-yards, by per- miflion both of his Majefty and from the Admiralty ; but his original fcheme was never completed. The figures in thefe pictures were alio painted by Mortimer. Faton for many years enjo\^d a poft in the Excife, and was, at his death, one of the Accomptants-general in that Office. lie died at his houfe in Wardour-ftreet, Soho, in March 1791, about 70 years of age. He was a man of refpectable character, but rather aiTuming in his manners. WILLIAM HOARE, r. a. This gentleman received his early education as an artift under an Italian painter in London, but afterwards vifited Italy, • 1 " . : "" • here be became the papil of Imperiale, and was whk him at the lame time with Pompeo Batumi. On his return to England he fettled at Bath, wh- untained ah. painter, both in cr^ :.s& oil colours: an<^ periods, paiuted mott of the g md nosUirr who vi - "... . choienone of the membe iman and had re a liberal education, but his talet its me of temporary artiis, thocgh he fome good pc He dk :mber i adrac-. :i to h ■ . A: : the Octagon Chapel at Ba;r s a pi ited by ih s — . ic La^r Ma i healec the : : Bcthe * There b anoth e Hofpital of that hich was exhibited in Lotx! ; : neither of theie equal to fome that h~ . fince produced by the Hoare left, among other children, a ion and two diugh- m married into the K- i that name. He had atfb a brother, who was a teulptor. and will be mentioned in another part of this work. * Toe this ptcsur* to* ami re- . ;oo. sad a ?s» ia zi-c Cfcaj i68 Anecdotes of Painting. The eldeft ion, Prince Hoare, who was educated as a painter, ftudied for fome time in Rome, and alfo vifited other cities of Italy. Since then he has exchanged the pencil for the pen, and has produced fome dramatic pieces, among which are " No Song no Supper — The Haunted Tower — and My Grand- mother," all of which have been favourably received by the Public. This gentleman, after the death of James Bofwell, Efq. was elected in 1 799 Secretary for Foreign Correfpondence to the Royal Academy; which appointment he now fills with great credit to himfelf, and with more attention towards the Inftitution, than was before fhewn by his predeceffors in that department. WILLIAM TOMKINS, a. A landfcape painter, born in London : Both his father and his uncle were practitioners in the fame line of art, but of what rank cannot be eafily afcertained, as their works are at prefent unknown. He was firft diftinguifhed by* Mr. Walters, who was much pleafed with a picture of his painting, for which he obtained the fecond premium of twenty-five guineas in 1 763. By Mr. Walters he was recommended to many perfons of fafhion, and for them painted feveral views, both in the Weft and North of England. He alfo praclifed much as a picture cleaner. * Father-in-law to the prefent Lord Grimftone. His Anecdotes of Painting. 169 His beft work was a large landscape, which he painted for his patron, as a companion to a good copy after Claude Lorraine, which was in the polTeffion of Mr. Walters. There a e alio fome good views, which he painted for Lord Fife, taken from his lordfhip's feat in the North. He was among thofe who were firft elected Affociates of the Royal Academy. He died at his houfe in Queen Ann-fireet Eaft, Jan. 1, 1792. Mr. Tomkins left four fons, two of whom are employed in the arts, and are now living ; confequently cannot with pro- priety be much noticed in thefe anecdotes. The younger of the two is an excellent engraver, having been the fcholar of Barto- lozzi, and now refides in Bond-ftreet. The elder, Charles, has publifhed a " Tour in the Ille of "Wight," the plates of which, eighty in number, are executed by himfelf, in aquasiinta. The work is dedicated to Sir John Barington.* Among the few pupils to whom the father gave iufeructions, was the brother of his wife, Thomas Callard, who painted land- fcape, but died very young, about the year 1771. JOHN GREENWOOD, Was a native of Bofton, in New England, who, bv his own induftry, acquired fufficient powers in art to profefs himfelf a painter. When a young man he left his native city, and went to Surinam, where he ftaid fome time and practifed painting, * In large o&avo, publilhed by G. Kearfley, 1796. Z and 170 Anecdotes of Painting. and likewife employed himfelf in collecting fubje<5ts of natural hiftory. From Surinam he went to Holland, where he became a dealer in works of art, and formed an acquaintance with Mr. Black- wood,* an Englifli merchant, who dealt much in pictures. After fome flay in Holland, he came to London about the year 1763, and for fome time praclifed both as a painter and engraver in mezzotinto. Of his abilities as an artift the author has no recollection, although he was an exhibitor f at different periods, from the year 1764 until 1773 ; after Which he quitted his profeffion, and became an auctioneer. In this capacity he for fome time occupied the rooms which had belonged to Ford, in the Haymarket, but afterward removed to Leicefter-fquare, where he built a commodious room adjoining to his dwelling-houfe, and communicating with Whitcombe-ftreet, in which fituation his fon for fome years continued the fame bufinefs, but has fince removed to Bond-ftreet. The following circumftance did credit to Mr. Greenwood's judgment and integrity. In the latter part of the year 1780, he fold by auction a very large collection of fketches and draw- ings, which were the works of William Vandervelde, jun. They had been long fhut up in the poffeffion of a perfon of the name of Brown, who lived many years in Spring-gardens, and kept an ob- fcure cofTee-houfe oppofite the paflage into the Park. Upon the death of Brown, they became the property of his widow, who * This gentleman traded to Spain, from whence he brought fome very fine pictures of the Spanish matters, particularly of Murillo. t His firft exhibition picture was a view of Bofton, in New England. after It y>iTmf>asi' f?i, William Ta^de Telbe,jihl Anecdotes of Painting. 171 after keeping them a few years, offered the collection to Mr. Greenwood for no great fum ; when he honeftly advifed her to (land the fale ; which advice fhe followed, and received a hand- fome fum as their produce. This collection contained fome very beautiful fpecimens of the works of Vandervelde, which, by being thus difperfed, enriched the cabinets of many of the firft collectors in England. Mr. Greenwood died at Margate, Sept. 16, 1792, aged 63. ROBERT EDGE PIXE, Born in London, was the fon of Mr. John Pine, the engraver, who executed and publifhed the elegant edition of Horace, the whole of which is engraved. He chiefly praftifed as a portrait painter, and was confidered as among the beft colouriils of his time. He refided fe\£ral years in St. Martin's-lane, in the large manfion oppofite to New-ftreet, Covent-garden. In the year 1 760, he produced a picture as candidate for the premium then offered by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. for the belt hiftorical picture painted in oil colours ; the figures to be as large as life, and the fubject to be taken from the Engliih hiitorv. Mr. Pine felected the furrender of Calais, * and obtained the firft prize of one hundred guineas. * The point of time reprefented in the picture, is the approach of Euftace de St. Pierre, with his five townfmen, to Edward the third, while his queen Phillipa is kneeling and interceding for them. z 2 This r 7 2 Anecdotes of Painting. This was the firft time that the Society offered this liberal fiimilus to the exertions of the Britifh artifts. In 1 762,- he again offered a picture as candidate for the fimi- Iar premium, and obtained the firft prize ; the fubje6t, " Ca- nute on the Sea- more, reproving his Courtiers for their Flat- tery." * At the fame time his former pupil, Mr. Mortimer, obtained the fecond premium. In the year 1772, upon the death of his brother Simon, he went to Bath, and ftaid there till 1779. He returned to London in the early part of 1782, and made an exhibition at the Great Room, Spring-gardens, of a collection of pictures painted by himfelf ; the fubjecls taken from various fcenes in Shakfpeare ; but the exhibition did not anfwer his expectations. It mult be obferved, that whatever merit thofe works might poffefs in their colouring and compofition, his drawing in general was feeble in the extreme ; as may be feen by the prints which were en- graved after fome of the pictures. As he did not meet with that employment he wifhed for in London, he quitted England, and went to America in the latter part of the fame year, where he painted feveral portraits ; among which were fome of General Wafhington. Whether he there obtained fufficient employ- ment to gratify his willies is not afcertained; however, he did not return to England, but died at Philadelphia in 1 790. This gentleman's abilities as an artift were by no means folid, or extenfive ; and as a man, he was of a refllefs and litigious * Prints were engraved from both thefe premium pi&ures, by Aliamet, which were publifhed by Mr. Pine. turn Anecdotes of Painting. 173 turn of mind, qualities which introduced him among the moft active of thofe turbulent members, who nrit dilturbed, and afterwards, by a continuation of their famous conduct, com- pletely dilTolved the Chartered Society of Artifi& * The following pictures, which were painted by him, may be confidered as among his belt fpecimens : A whole-length portrait + of his late Majefty, George the fecond, at Lord Braybroke's, Audley End. A whole-length portrait of the late Duke of Northumberland, in the Committee Room of the MiddleleK Hoipital, in which his Grace is represented as laying the nrit ftone of that build- ing. His picture of the Surrender of Calais, is in the Town- hall, at Newbury : It was bought of the artiit b_\ the Corpo- ration, and the print which was engraved from it is dedicated to them by Mr. Pine. He left a widow and fome daughters, who re England after the death of their father. SIMON PINE, Brother of the forementioned gentleman, was a niinia: painter, who refided for a few years in London, but ch: Bath, where he died 111 1772. of mmd is lufBciently demonftrated, by obferrin^ t; painted feveral portra e popular Pa- -were eugrived and published : Among others., is one cf J. ' -jj e followin_ ?ine Humanamm Figuraru- f Painted bv Memor\ . RICH, 174 -^ necdotes of Pain ting. RICHARD BROMPTON, Was pupil to Benjamin AVilfon. He went afterwards to Rome, and received initructions from Raphael Mengs. Whil at Rome, he was introduced to the patronage of the Earl of Northampton, who was then on his travels ; and when his lordfhip was appointed ambaffador to Venice, Mr. Bromp- ton left Rome and joined his lordfhip's fuite. By this means he was introduced to feveral Englifh gentlemen, whofe portraits he painted in company with the then Duke of York, which picture * was afterwards exhibited at Spring-garden rooms in 1767. He had returned to England fome months before, and was fettled in George-ftreet, Hanover-fquare. He might have ac- quired confiderable employment, but his vanity continually led him into follies, which digufted his employers, and he therefore did not meet with that encouragement he expected. In the courfe of a few years his circumftances became embarrafTed, and he was thrown into the King's-bench prifon, where he remained till he was releafed by the Emprefs of Ruffia, to whom he had been recommended as a portrait painter. In confequence of which he went to Ruflia, -f where he was well received, and met with much employment, but his filly vanity 1 .m into a pompous ftyle of living, which entirely precluded any miprove- * This picture was a onyerfation piece, the figures final], whole-length, t About the year *;82. ment Anecdotes of Painting. /D ment in his circumftances, nor did he furvive many years. He died at Peterfburgh, though at what time cannot be now afcertained, but it was certainly before the year 1790. His beft pictures are thefe : A half-length portrait of Mr. Huftler, an elderly gentleman, fitting with his cane in his hand. Two whole-lengths of the Prince of Wales, and his brother the Duke of York ; the former in the robes of the order of the Garter ; the latter in thofe of the order of the Bath.* Thev are on feparate canvafles as large as life ; from which there are alfo two fmall copies that were made for the engraver. He was fome time at Salisbury, where he painted a large picture of a "Weft India gentleman and his family, and at the conclufion, quarrelled with his employer about the price, as he had before done with the perfon for whom he painted the por- traits of the Princes, f When at Salisbury, he was engaged to elean and repair the famous piclure of Vandyck, at Wilton-houfe ; which he did with fo little discretion, that the picture has irreparably fullered by his hand. His colouring was fhowy but heavy, his manner tame, and woolly in the penciling. He valued himfelf upon the labour and neatnefs of his iinhhing, qualities ill fuited to the fpirited and mafterly touches which are peculiar to the works of Vandyck. He left a widow, but no children. The lady afterwards mac- * There are mezzotinto print-; from all the forementiouecl pictures, -j- Lady Charlotte Finch. ried 176 Anecdotes of Painting. ried an Englith merchant at Peterfburgh, and returned to England. FILETER STEPHANOFF, * Was by birth a Ruffian ; it is not known when he came to England. He refided in London for fome years, and at different times exhibited at the Royal Academy, particularly in the years 1 77S and 1 78 1 . He painted in a variety of ways — fometimes portraits, but chiefly decorations for ceilings ; and was employed in painting fome of the fcenes for the Circus, in St. George's-fields. It is a melancholy fa6l that this perfon terminated his exifience with his own hand, though from what caufe is wholly unknown to the author, nor can he exactly recollect when the rafh a<5t was committed, but it was before the year 1790. Gertrude Stephanoff, his wife, painted dead game, and flill life. In the year 1783, me exhibited two pictures, a pheafant and a hare. SIMON TAYLOR, Was educated as an artift at Shipley's drawing-fchool, and obtained feveral premiums. About the year 1 760, he was taken * This artift fometimes figned himfelf F. N. Stephanoff. by > Anecdotes of Painting. 177 by Lord Bute to paint botanical fubjects, in which line of art he had given early proofs of abilities. He was employed in the fervice of his lordfhip for many years, in painting a vaft number of plants, which he executed in a very accurate and matterly manner. They were done in water colours upon vellum. This noble and valuable collection, after his lordihip's death, fell into the pofleffion of the honourable Colonel Stewart, who thought proper to difpofe of them, and they were fold by auc- tion at MeiTrs. Leigh and Sotheby's, in the fpring of 1794. Mr. Taylor was alio employed by the late Dr. Fothergill,* for whom he painted a collection of plants, which were fold, after the doctor's death, to the late Emprefs of Ruffia. They were valued at two thoufand pounds, though they coft the doctor much more. Mr. Taylor's price for the drawing of a plant was three guineas. He died about ten years ago. PHILIP WICK5TEAD. A fcholar of Mr. Zoffani. He painted portraits chiefly in fmall whole-lengths. He ftudied for fome time at Rome, where he met with Mr. William Beckford, f of Somerly-hall, Suffolk, who took him to * He died in 1780. Mr. Beckford, of Fonthill. A a Jamaica. 178 A necdotes of Painting. Jamaica. He there praftifed for a confiderable period as a painter, but afterwards became a planter, in which undertaking he was not fuccefsful.. This difappointment occafioned an un- eafinefs of mind, for which he fought a temporary but treache- rous relief in drinking, which haftened his death. He died before the year 1790. Sir GEORGE CHALMERS, Bart * A painter, by profeffion. The honours of his family defcended to him without fortune, which was loft by connection with the Stewart family. He was a native of Edinburgh, and the fcholar of Mr. Ram- fey, but he afterwards ftudied at Rome. Sir George was a gen- tleman of very refpe&able manners, but not of high rank as an artift. He refided a few years at Hull, where he painted feveral por- traits, and very frequently exhibited at the Royal Academy. He died in London, about the early part of the year 1791. There is a mezzolinto print of General BIakeney,f which was fcraped after a picture painted by this artift at Minorca, when the General, who was his particular friend, was governor of that Ifland. The piclure was painted in 1755. In Bromley's catalogue of engraved portraits, mention is * The Baronetcy is of Cults, in Scotland, 1664. f This refpe&able and veteran officer died at the very advanced age of 91, in 1761. made A.-.: ig- 170 Roderick Chalmers, Rq c herald and Painter, of Edin- gh, whole portrait was engra- re ; after a picture painted by G. Chalmers. Whether thefe perfons were related to each other, is unknown to the author. ROBERT CARVER. A native of Ireland, and an ingenious ;.::*: He painted \: (capes and lea-views : In the latter, he had a happy mode of re- prefenting the waves breaking on the fa A, or dalh a againft a rocky more. Carver was in ene painter, and was en- _ed in that capacity at feveral theatres own conn: He was introduced into Ens r his countryman Mr. Barry.* the player, at whofe recommendation he was engaged by Mr. G 1 : r k k : paint fcen ury-lane theatre. Wh ; .-. M r Bi: :y quitted Drury-lane for Cogent-garden, Mr Carter followed friends and was employed at that theatre until his death. He v fas i: i years afflicted with the gout, of which be died the end of November 1 -; 1 EDWARD PENNY, e. a. A native of Knu:^: C .0 having in his vouth an inclination to painting, was fen: to Rome by Rune g demen ^mk account is given of this gentleman by Mr. Daris, in his hi-: :" M; Gar: a a a who j8o Anecdotes of Paint big. who fubfcribed for that purpofe. He there became the fcholar of Marco Benifiali. At what time he went to Rome is not known, but he cer- tainly was there before the year 1748, which is ascertained by the following anecdote related by himfelf : " In going from Venice to Home, and palling through an advanced guard of Auftrian foldiers, he was requefied to fhew his paffport, but of this he was totally unprovided, having neg- lected to procure one.. From this difficulty, he was relieved by the ingenuity of the Vetterino, who, making great buftle as if to open the trunks for therequifite credentials, obferved, that his was a Galantuomo, going to Rome about bufinefs to il Re Inglefe." This confident behaviour, accompanied with the pre- vailing influence of three fequins, procured for our traveller liberty to purfue his journey without further obftruclion. When he returned to England, he met with eonfiderable em- ployment in painting fmall portraits in oil. He alfo painted va- rious other fubjecls, fuch as the death of General Wolfe, from which a mezzotinto print was publifhed by Sayer, of Fleet-ftreer, by the fale of which he acknowledged to have made five hun- dred pounds. The portrait of the Marquis of Granby relieving a fick foldier, from which there is a print — Virtue rewarded, and Profligacy punifhed, two pictures which are alfo engraved. Mr. Penny was an Exhibitor with the Society of Artifts of Great Britain; and was Ibmetime Vice Prefident of the Society, after a charter had been obtained. At the foundation of the Royal Academy, he was one of the members. He was appointed the Anecdotes of Painting. 181 / the firft profefTor of painting in that inftitution, a place he held to the year 1783, at which time he refigned that fituation, and was fucceeded by Mr. Barry. About this period he went to refide at Chifwick, and, having married a lady of property, lived fbme years in quiet retirement. He died November 15, 179 1. RICHARD DALTON, Was a native of Cumberland, and apprenticed to a coach- painter in Clerkenwell. After quitting his matter he went to Rome to purfue the fludy of painting, where, meeting with Lord Charlemont, he was engaged by his lordfhip to accompany him to Greece, about the year 1749. / On his return to England, he was, by the intereft of his noble patron, introduced to the notice of his prefent Majeily, then Prince of Wales, who, after his acceflion to the throne, appointed him his Librarian. Soon after his appointment, it was deter- mined to form a noble collection of drawings, medals, &c. for which purpofe Mr. Dalton was fent to Italy to collect the vari- ous articles fuited to the intention, in the year 1763. The objeci of his tour being accomplished, he re-vifited Lon- don, and when the Royal Cabinet was adjufted, his department of Librarian was changed to that of Keeper of the drawings and medals. Upon I Si Anecdotes of Painting. Upon the death of Mr. Knapton,* he was, by his Majefty, appointed Surveyor of the pictures in the palaces. Upon his firft appointment at court he had apartments at St. James's palace, where he reiided till his death, which was in February 1791. When the Society of Artifts was incorporated by charter, he was appointed the Treafurer, but foon refigned the Office, in confequence of the difTenfions that took place in that inftitution. As an artift he never acquired any great powers. In one of the early exhibitions was a drawing executed by him ; the fub- jec~t, an Egyptian dancing Girl, which was the only fpecimen he ever exhibited. He publifhed feveral works at different periods of his life. The firft was a collection of prints after the antique flatues, a few of which he etched himfelf, but they cannot be confidered as mafterly performances. Some of thefe are dated 1744. 2. Ceremonies and Manners of the Turks. 3. Remarks on Prints, intended to be published, relative to the manners, cmioms, &c. of the prefent inhabitants of Egypt, from drawings made on the fpot in 1749. Publifhed 1781, by Emfley and Cadell, in the Strand. There are alfo fome views of Mount Vefuvius, which were engraved after his defigns. * He died in 1778. JOHN Anecdotes of Pain ting. 1 83 JOHN HAKEWELL. His father was employed as a foreman by Mr. Thornhill, * the ferjeant painter to his Majefly. The fon was fome time under the tuition of Mr. Wale, and when young received feveral premiums from the Society of Arts, &c. particularly in the year 1760, when he obtained the firft premium for the drawing of a landfcape ; and in the year 1764, for a figure after one of the cafts in the Duke of Rich- mond's gallery. He was by no means void of talents, but wanted refolution to encounter the difficulties of the art, and therefore contented himfelf with pra6tifing as a matter houfe-painter, in which he held conliderable rank. His profefiion in that line certainly does not entitle him to a place in thefe Anecdotes; yet he cannot be patted over, having painted many fubjects for decorations in the Arabefque, or Grotefque ftyle, of which there are fome fpecimens at Blenheim, Oxfordshire, and alfo at a gentleman's feat at Charlbury, in the fame county. He alfo painted fome landscapes, and at times attempted portraits, fpecimens of which he exhibited at the Spring-garden Room, in 1769. He was fuddenly feifed with palfy, of which he lingered for fome time, and died Sept. 21, 1. 791, about 50 years of age. He left feveral children ; the eldeft fon, now living, was for fome time the pupil of Mr. Yenn, the architect. * James Thornhill, fon of Sir James, and brother-in-law to Mr. Hogarth. See Walpole's Anecdotes, vol. iv. page 46,odavo edition, publilhed by Dodfley, 1782. Sir 184 Anecdotes of Painting. Sir JOSHUA REYNOLDS, r. a. Vaflari, who, like mairy other biographical writers of his coun- try, delights in extravagant expreffion, and hyperbolical praife, begins his life of Michael Angelo,* by obferving that " while " the artifts who fucceeded Giotto, were endeavouring to attain " the higheft degree of perfection, the benign ruler of heaven " caft his eyes on earth, and feeing the unavailing attempts of ft prefumptuous man, determined to fend a being on earth, who ** alone mould demonftrate what was perfection in art:" Though it would be ridiculous to attempt imitating the foregoing ex- travagant exordium, by Way of producing a parallel in favour of the artift of whom we are now fpeaking, yet it is but juftice to obferve, that at the time when Mr. Reynolds commenced his profeffion, " the art of painting in England was in the " loweft ftate it had ever been, (it could not be lower)." This defective ftate of the art, particularly in portrait painting, certainly originated in the rapacity of that mafterly artift Sir Godfrey Kneller, who, the better to enable himfelf to w r ade through the flood of bufinefs with which he was fur- rounded, ftruck out a flight and broad manner of marking his portraits, which as it was at the fame time bold and mafterly in its execution, gave him little trouble, though it fatisfied his employers. * Vita di Michelagnolo Buonarrotti. Giorgio Vaflari Fiorenza, 1568. The §I& &ODFKE1T K^EX,I>EK Portrait x History. B or 11 16 48 . Dieii V7 2 6 Anecdotes of Painting. 185 The confequence of this negligent practice was, that the artifts, who were his contemporaries, being pleafed with the bold- nefs of his pictures, and the facility with which they were pro- duced, became the mitnicks of his manner, but, like all imi- tators, they fell fliort of his merits, while they copied his defects. Their fucceffors, treading in the fame path, with equal imbecility, feemed to have purfued a conduct the reverfe of that, which the Italian biographer afcribes to thofe who preceded Buonarotti. — They appear to have laboured to become worfe rather than better than their predeceffors. Though it may be juftly allowed, that fuch an impoverimed Hate of art was difgraceful to this age and country, yet on the other hand it afforded a favourable opportunity of difplay to one who poffeffed fuperior talents and vigour of mind; for- tunately fuch was Sir Joiliua Reynolds. He was born at Plympton in Devonfhire,* July 16, 1723. — His father, the Rev. Samuel Reynolds, was mafter of the Free Grammar School of that town, but, as Mr. Malone obferves, did not then poffefs or afterwards acquire any clerical preferment. The fon received his fchool education from his father. When very young he discovered a ftrong inclination to painting, which was confirmed by his reading Richardfon's Treatife on that Art. This natural propenfity was indulged and ftrength- ened at intervals, by copies which he made after the various prints he could then procure ; among which were the frontif- pieces to Plutarch's Lives, and alfo Jacob Catt's Emblems. * It is not unworthy of remark, that Sir Jofhua was born about three months before Sir Godfrey Kneller died, which happened October 27, in the year 1723. B b When i86 Anecdotes of Painting. When he was at an age to affume a profeffion, he was placed with Mr. Hudfon, who was at that time the moft fafhionable portrait painter. This fituation was wifely chofen by the father, as being congenial to the natural inclinations of the fon. "With Hudfon he ftaid about three years, when they parted upon fome difference taking place between them, which was probably occafioned by the unpleafant temper of the mafter. While Reynolds was a pupil, he painted a head from an elderly female fervant of the family, in which he difcovered a tafte fuperior to moft of the painters of his day. It is faid that his mafter upon feeing the portrait, foretold the future fuccefs of his pupil; not without difcovering, in his fubfequent behaviour towards young Reynolds, fome fymptoms of jealoufy of his be- coming a future rival. When he quitted Hudfon he returned to Devon fh ire, where he purfued the practice of portrait painting. He began his career at a very low price, by which he gained not only employ- ment but improvement, as is ftrongly indicated in feveral of the heads he then painted, which poffefs a Jlyle of execution much fuperior to what can be found in the works of the portrait- painters of that time. Mr. Malone, in his account of our artift, fays, that while he was in the country, he did not pafs his time in a manner that gave him perfect fatisfaftion in the fubfequent part of his life.* However, * Left the author ftiould be mifunderftood, it will not be improper to quote the pafiage as it ftands in Mr. Malone's work : " In 1743 he removed to Devonfhire, " where, as he told me, he pafled about three years in company, from whom " little Anecdotes of Painting. 187 However, he was fufficiently prudent in that time to acquire the friendfhip of Lord Mount Edgcumbe, and of Captain (afterwards Lord) Keppel. The former encouraged him to vifit Italy, and he failed with the latter, who was appointed to aflation in the Medi- terranean. In confequence he left Plymouth May 11, 1 749, and vifited Gibraltar, Cadiz, Lifbon, Algiers, and Minorca. After fpending about two months at Port Mahon, he went on to Leghorn, and thence proceeded to Rome. How long he (laid in that city is not exactly known, but it was there that he may be faid to have began his ltudies in art. After leaving Rome he vifited the other cities of Italy. At Florence he ftaid two months, where he painted feveral por- traits. In Venice he refided fix weeks, and at that city clofed his ftudies and obfervations upon the works of the great mafters of Italy. From Venice he returned to England, and took the road of Mount Cenis, upon which mountain he very unexpectedly met with his old mafter Mr. Hudfon, in company with Mr. Roubi- liac, the fculptor, both going to pay a fhort vifit to Rome. — This fingular meeting of the quondam mailer and pupil, was marked by mutual congratulations, but did not detain the par- ties from their different journies. Mr. Reynolds arrived in London in October 1752. At his firft eftablifhment he refided in St. Martin's-lane, but " little improvement could be got. When he recollecled this period of his life, " he always fpoke of it as fo much time thrown away (fo far as related to the " knowledge of the world and of mankind) of which he ever afterwards lamented " the lofs." B b 2 foon i88 Anecdotes of Painting. foon removed to a large manfion on the north fide of Great Newport-ftreet, where he dwelt a few years. In 1761, here- moved to the weft fide of Leicefter-fquare, where he bought a good houfe, to which he added a very convenient painting room, and an elegant gallery for the difplay of his pictures. Soon after Mr. Reynolds' arrival from the Continent, he diftinguiihed himfelf by the portrait of Captain (afterwards Lord) Keppel, which was followed by thofe of Captain Orm, Aid-de-camp to General Braddock, Mifs Crew and her brother, as Cupid and Pfyche, all of which were whole-lengths, com- posed and executed in a ftyle fuperior to any portraits that had been produced in England fince the time of Vandyck. His fame was ftill further confirmed when the firft exhibition was opened, in which his pictures were evidently the firft of the portrait clafs. He had the gratification of feeing himfelf the author of a ftyle of portraiture, which was the object of imita- tion to all the rifing artifts of his age. In 1762, he exhibited a whole-length portrait of Lady Eliza- beth Keppel,* in the drefs which flie wore as bridemaid to the Queen. The lady is reprefented as decorating the ftatue of Hymen, aflifted by a black female fervant. In the fame year he alfo produced a picture of Garrick, between comedy and tragedy, which may be confidered as his firft attempt in hifto- rical compofition. * From this pitture there is a very good mezzotinto by Fiftier, but without date. In A necdotes of Pain ting. 1 89 In 1765 he exhibited a whole-length of Lady Sarah Bunbury, who in the picture is reprefented as facrificing to the Graces. Thus he introduced into his portraits a dyle of gallant compli- ment which proved that as a painter he well knew how to en- fure the approbation of the dirlinguiilied fair. At this time he had attained the fummit of his reputation as an artift, which he maintained to the clofe of his life, although Mr. Cotes, and afterwards Mr. Ramfay, fliared in no fmall de- gree the fafhion of the day. Though he fubfcribed his name on the roll of the charter of the Society of Artifts, at their incorporation, and was appointed one of the Directors, yet he took little or no part in the bufinefs of that inftitution. His manners and fentiments did by no means permit him to attend to meetings, in which he would have found him felf blended with men, the majority of whom were deficient in talents, though at the fame time fufficiently confident, to a6t with illiberally and rudenefs towards thofe, who did not coincide with their own intemperate and violent meafures. The improper conduct of the refractory members of the Chartered Society having (as already obferved in another part of this work) given rife to the Royal Academy, Mr. Reynolds was chofen Prefident, and it mull be confeffed that no one at that time could have been felecled, who was fo perfectly qualified to fill the chair with honour to himfelf, and advantage to the inftitution. Upon this occafion he received the honour of knighthood, and on the 2d of January 1769, took his feat for the full time as Prefident, when he delivered a difcourfe to the Royal Academicians, replete with candour, found fenfe, and the raoft itjo Anecdotes of Painting. moft fuilable advice to thofe who had the conduct of the fchools then newly eftablifhed. This practice he continued, as often as the gold medals were beftowed upon thofe ftudents of the Aca- demy who had produced the beft hiftorical piclure. Some years before he had obtained the intimacy and friend- lhip of many of the firft literary characters of the age, and had mewed himfelf capable of employing his pen as an able critic in his profeffion, for in the year 1759 he wrote three Letters, which were inferted in the Idler, a periodical paper, fupported by his intimate friend Dr. Samuel Johnfon. The fuperior eminence to which he had attained, together with his critical talents, qualified him to fliare the honours of the firft fcientific institutions. He was accordingly admitted to the Royal, the Antiquarian, and the Dilettanti Societies. Thefe were not the only honours he received, for when the late Lord North was inftalled Chancellor of the Univerfity of Ox- ford, Sir Jofhua was at the fame time admitted to the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law, in the firft week of July 1773. He had yet other honours conferred upon him, which were recorded by his own hand upon the following occafion. In the latter part of the year 1775, he fent his portrait in his Univerfity drefs, to the gallery, at the back ©f which is the following infcription :* * From this pi&ure there is a mezzotinlo print fcraped by Mr. Charles Town- ley, dated 1777. There is alfo a fmaller one engraved by Carto Faucci, after a drawing by Francifco Corfi, from the fame pidlure. It ferves as a frontifpiece to the Italian translation of his difcourfes. Joshua Anecdotes of Paint ins. iqi Joshua Reynolds, Eques Auratus, Academia? regiae Londini Pra?fes, Juris civilis, apud Oxonienles Doctor ; Regiae Societatis, Antiquaria?. Londini Socius. Honorarius Florentinas apud Academic Imperialis Socius nee non oppidi natalis, dicti Plimpton, Comitat. Devon. Praefectus, Inltitiarius Morumque Cenlor. Upon the death of Mr. Ramfay, Sir Joihua was iVorn principal painter to his Majeiiy. in Augnfi 1784 an ap- pointment to which a final I (alary is annexed. To this diftinc- tion he had a very juit claim, nor could it with propriety have been conferred on any other perfon. To clofe the whole of thefe well-deferved honours, the Painter-Stainers unanimoufly voted him the freedom of their Companv,* which they preit-nted to him on the following feltival of St. Luke, ac- companied by a copy of complimentary verfes, which are by no means defritute of merit. Before this period Sir Joihua had paid a fecond and third vilit to the Continent, the former in i - S:, ac- companied by Mr. Metcalf, the latter in 1783. In thefe tours he not only made feveral excellent remarks upon the works of the Flemiih matters, but alio purcoafed a few pictures. On 1 Mr. Cattoa was at that time mafter of the Companv. hi* lgs Anecdotes of Painting. his return he wrote fome observations on the works of Rubens, which are among the belt of his criticifms, and are very mafterly illuilrations of the merits of that Prince of the Flemifh Painters. Thefe he intended to arrange and publifh, but his other avo- cations prevented him from executing his defign ; and therefore Mr. Malone, to whofe care they were configned after Sir Jofhua's death, has inferted them in his fecond volume. During the courfe of Sir Jofhua's active life, he enjoyed a ftate of almoft uninterrupted health, until the latter part of the year 1782, when he experienced a flight mock of what was appre- hended to be a paralytic affection, for which he vifited Bath, and perfectly recovered in a very fhort time. He did not fuffer any other unpleafant fenfation till the year 1789, when he felt a weaknefs in his left eye, which increafed fo much as to render it ufelefs. Fearing the total lofs of fight, he refolved to relin- quifh, his favourite purfuit, a circumftance that muft have been extremely painful to him, as no artift ever delighted more in the ufe of his pencil. Not long after he had formed this refolution, he felt fome painful fyraptoms, which he confidered as figns of approaching dhTolution. His friends were willing to fuppofe that his fpirits were unneceffarily depreffed, and that by a little exertion his health would be reftored; but they were too foon convinced that he did not complain without caufe, for after lingering about three months, he died on the 23d of February 1792. The difeafe under which he fo long laboured, and which he bore with great patience and fortitude, was not underftood by his phyficians till about a fortnight before his death. It was then pronounced Anecdotes of Painting. 193 pronounced to be a complaint in the liver, which was con- firmed after his deceafe ; for, upon inflection, it was found that this part of the vifcera was increafed to an exceffive magnitude, and the brain was alfo much indurated. Thus clofed the life of a gentleman, who, as himfelf candidly confeffed, had paffed his days in a ftate of profeflional honour and focial enjoyment, that had fcarcely been equalled, and never furpaffed, by any of his predeceffors in art. On Saturday the third of March following, the remains of Sir Joiliua Reynolds, after lying in ftate at the Royal Academy, were interred in the Crypt of St. Paul's, near the tomb of Sir Chriftopher Wren, the conftmclor of that noble building. The funeral was conducted with all the honours that could be bellowed upon departed merit, and the corpfe was attended to the grave by many perfons of the firft rank in the kingdom. As' Mr. Malone has already given a particular account of that tranfaclion, it can hardly be justifiable to repeat what could only be a copy of his narration. It will therefore be fufficient to fay, that the members of the Academy, both Royal Academi- cians and Affociates, as alfo feveral of the ftudents, attended, together with other gentlemen who were confidered as members of the Academy, among whom were Bennet Langton, Efq. and James Bofwell, Efq. the former profeffor of Ancient Literature; the latter Secretary for Foreign Correfpondence to the Royal Academy. The Lord Mayor and Sheriff honoured the proceflion, and the pall was fupported by the following noblemen : C c The 194 Anecdotes of Painting. The Duke of Dorfet, Lord Steward of His Majefty's Houfehold Duke of Leeds Duke of Portland Marquis Townfend Marquis Abercorne Earl of Carlifle Earl of Inchiquin Earl of Upper Offory Lord Vifcount Palmerfton Lord Elliot. CHIEF MOURNER. Robert Lovel Gwatkin, Efq. Nephew to Sir Jofhua by marriage. EXECUTORS. Edmund Burke, Efq. Edmund Malone, Efq. Philip Metcalfe, Efq. Nor were his obfequies un honoured by the moft dignified of the church, for the Archbifhop of York, and the Bilhop of London, together with the Dean of Norwich, were alfo prefent ; and Dr. JefTeries, at that time one of the Canons Refidentiary of St. Paul's, performed the fervice, affifted by the full choir. As Mr. Malone has alfo given a particular detail of the will which Sir Jofhua made, on the 5th of November preceding his death, Anecdotes of Painting. 195 death, I fhall only mention what he has omitted, namely, his legacy to his filler Mifs Frances Reynolds, to whom he left the intereft of 2,5001. in the funds, the principal in reverfion to his niece Mifs Palmer, together with the bulk of his fortune. This lady, foon after her uncle's death, married the Earl of Inchiquin, (now Marquis Thomond). He alfo bequeathed fome of his pictures to the following noblemen and gentlemen, who might be ranked among his intimate friends. To the Earl of Upper Offory — The firft choice of any pi&ure of his painting. To Lord Palmerilon — The fecond choice. To Sir Abraham Hume — The choice of one of his Claude Lor- raine's. To Sir George Beaumont, Bart. — The Return of the Ark, by Sebaftian Bourdon. To the Duke of Portland — The upper part of his pi&ure for the Oxford window. To the Rev. Mr. Mafon — The miniature picture of Milton, by Cooper. To Mr. R. Burke, jun. — The picture of Cromwell, by the fame mailer. To Mrs. Bunbury — Her fon's portrait. To Mrs. Givyn — Her own portrait. To this will he appointed Mr. Burke, Mr. Metcalfe, and Mr. Malone, his Executors. c c 2 Sir ig6 Anecdotes of Painting. Sir Jofliua iti Ins manners was the well-bred man of fenfe, equally free from affected confequence or fupple compliance. In his converfation he was remarkably pleafant and unaffuming, As he cultivated the acquaintance and friendiliip of men of the firft literary talents, he confequently improved his own mental powers, fo that in the fociety of thofe diltinguimed in the ftudy of the Belles Lettres, he fupported a character of great refpecta- bility ; highly efteemed as a man, and venerated as an artift. To fay that he was without fault, would be to decorate him with a character to which no man can have a claim. His general conduct was prudent and juft, yet not without fome alloy, from attention to his own intereit. That he was fond of dis- playing among his friends of rank, his fuperiority in the govern- ment of the Royal Academy, cannot be denied, and it was owing to this weaknefs, that an unpleafant difagreement took place between him and the members of that inftitution, and which ultimately occafioned his resignation of the Presidency.* But fuch was the refpeft which the Academicians entertained * The friends of Sir Jofliua were fo partial to him, that at the time of his re- signation, theyuniverfally fuppofed that the members of the Academy had treated him improperly, but this was not the faft: They only oppofed him in his endea- vours to introduce improperly a perfon to be amemberof the Academy. Upon Sir Joihua's refignation, feveral of his friends chofe to fuotiie him with complimentary verfes. Among others Lord Carlifle (Seethe Annual Reij'l'ter for 1/9°) ar, d ^ r * Jerningham, employed their pens to reproach the members of the Academy, and to juftify the Prefident ; but as they knew little of the dif- pute, their want of impartiality may be «xcufed by their friendship. for Anecdotes of Painting. \cfl for his general conduct and crreat abilities, that he was invited to return to his feat in a manner by no means d . ;1 to either party. His Majeity alfo I that he mould be pie. if he would reiume the Prefidency, and he jroperiy re- turned to the chair, from which he was foon after obliged to retire by ill health, and on the icth of November 170:, he deputed Mr. Weft to fupply his place, and was never after able to reiume that honourable fitnaiion. A more pleafant character was never given of any man than that which was written by Dr. Goldthiith, in his elegant little Poem of Retaliation, which, • as it extends, is as juft as it is beautiful. " HERE Rki ..ad. He has not left a berter cr wifer behind ! His pencil was frriking, refifileC _ ind, His manners were gentle, complying, and bland. ! born to improve pencil our fa: inners oar heart; To coxcombs is frill hard of hear: 3 When - i of their Raphael's, Corregio's, and StoiF, * He ihifted his trumpet, and only took fnurF." To form a juft eftimate oi Sir Jofhaa's pc lliould be re ed a that when he i upon the iiudr of S r Joihua was under the neceiliry of uung an ear-tnunpet, for his hewing _ a fit of . red at Rome, which not only left the above imi produced a flight con: ■ the upper lip, whicn .zored, although he per recovered his health. painting, 198 Anecdotes of Painting. painting, the art was in fo low a ftate, that it was fcarcely pofli- ble to procure, by inltruction, the neceffary and primary princi- ples, by which the mind of a ftudent could be formed ; and to this circumliance it is owing that Sir Joihua never obtained a perfect or mafterly knowledge of the human figure, a deficiency which he afterwards feverely felt and candidly acknowledged. In this unprepared ftate he vifited Rome, and was, as he owns in the fragment quoted by Mr. Malone, by no means gratified at the firft fight of thofe works which he went to ftudy. But as he, with great- prudence, fuipeeted this difappointment to originate in his own defective judgment, rather than in the productions of Raphael, he refolutely perfevered in his examination and confideration of thofe examples, until he difcovered their merits, and profited by them. As hiftory -painting was not the branch of art which he then ftudied, he applied his whole attention to thofe parts only which fuited his purpofe as a portrait-painter, particularly as he wifhed to eftablifh to himfelf a procefs and ftyle fupe- rior to that wretched manner to which he had been initiated in his youth. For this purpofe, he made feveral ftudies after the heads of thofe figures of Raphael, which are in the ftanzas of the Vatican, and by thefe means acquired a power of marking the features of his portraits, in a ftyle far fuperior to all the por- trait-painters who were his contemporaries. To this mafterly attainment in drawing the heads of his por- traits, he alfo added an improved fyftem of colouring, which be formed by his attention to the works of the Venetian mafters. Though his firft manner was imperfect in comparifon with that to Anecdotes of Painting. lag to which he afterwards attained, yet it was infinitely fuperior to the genera] practice of the other artifts in England ; but as the brilliancy of his works was too much fupported by glazing with tranfparent colours, many of his portraits, in a few years, loll fomething of their fplendour. This circumltance occafloned that charge againft him of the failure of his tints, which in a certain degree mult be admitted At the lame time it mould be remembered, that although his heads might fail in the fplen- dour of their appearance, they yet retained their harmony and tranfpa renew "Whatever might be the defects of his procefs, or of the ma- terials which he employed in the production ofthe portraits, painted in the early ftages of his employment, no luch failure can be found in the latter productions of his pencil ; for he not only improved in the richnei's of his colouring, but lb varied his procefs, that his latter pictures will be equally permanent with thole of any other artilt ancient or modern. It was not in the ule of colours ouly that he lurpaffed his contemporaries; he alio excelled in the chiaro ofcuro. and in the decorations of his pictures, particularly where he introduced * * It is worthy of notice, that although Mr. Gainsborough excelled in land- scape, vet thofe which he introduced into the back-grounds of h is s were much inferior to what enriched the portraits of Sir Jolhua Reynolds. On th l- William Parry, a. r. a. died 1791. John Berridge, a native of Lincoln, ■ Dufign, Anecdotes of Painting. 211 * Dufign, died at Rome 1770. ■ Gill, fon of Gill the paftry-cook, of Bath, who is mentioned by Anftie, in his Bath Guide. f William Doughty, died in Portugal 1730. James Northcote, r. a. a native of Plymouth. In clofing the anecdotes of Sir Jofhua, the author would be wanting in candour, if he did not acknowledge the advantages he received from the perufal of Mr. Malone's account of the life and writings of his friend ; for, although well acquainted with him, and frequently in his company, there are many circum- * As two of the above-mentioned gentlemen died too young to acquire any great rank in art, it maybe fufficient to complete the account of their Memoirs in this place. Mr. Dufign was fon of Colonel Dufign, by Lady Dorothy, daughter of the Earl of Hyndford. This young gentleman was a few years with Sir Jofhua, and, after he left hirn^ was for fome time at Bath, where his father refided, and he there painted fome portraits ; thence he went to Rome, where he furvived but afhorttime, and died in the latter part of the year 1770. f William Doughty was a native of Yorkihire, and was noticed by the Rev- Mr. Mafon*, by whofe means he was put under the care of Sir Jofhua. In the year 1780 he left London for the Eaft Indies ; but the fhip in which he was embarked was unfortunately captured, together with the reft of the convoy, by the combined fquadrons of France and Spain. This event affefted his health, and he died not long after at Lifbon. In the Exhibition of the Royal Academy in 1778, there was a three-quarter portrait of the Rev. Mr. Mafon, which was painted by him, and had much merit. * Precentor of York, author of Cara6tacus, Sec e e 2 fiances 212 Anecdotes of Tainting. fiances narrated by Mr. Malone, which could only be known to thofe who enjoyed the familiar intimacy of Sir Jofhua. The whole of his work is worthy the perufal of every ftudent in art, as it contains a valuable collection of reflections and criticifms on painting, fculpture, and architecture. There is alfo another account, which appeared foon after Sir Jofliua's death, by an anonymous writer : the title, " Tefti- monies to the Genius and Memory of Sir Jofhua Reynolds," by the author of Imperfect Hints towards a New Edition of Shakfpeare, quarto. (A rhapfodical account of Sir Jofhua, together with feveral of his contemporaries and friends.) Publiflied for J.Walter, Charing Crofs, 1792. Price five millings. ROBERT DAVY, Born at Columpton in Devonfhire. It is not known who was his mafter. He ftudied fome time at Rome, whence he returned to London about the year 176O. He chiefly painted portraits, but was not very fuccefsful in his practice, and therefore be- came a drawing-mafter ; in which capacity he for fome years attended one of the Ladies' fchools in Queen's-fquare. He was alfo Under Drawing-mafter at the Academy at Woolwich. As he was returning home in the evening, he was knocked down near his own door in John-ftreet, Tottenham-court-road, in confequence of which he languifhed a few days, fpeechlefs, and died the laft week in September 1 793. He Anecdotes of Tainting, 2 1 3 He fometimes copied pictures, among which he made an ex- cellent fmall one of Mr. Weft's Death of General Wolfe. JACOB MOORE, A native of Edinburgh, who painted landfcape. He went to Rome about the year 1773, where he practifed till he acquired considerable reputation. Great praife has been beftowed upon his works, but they were very much over-rated, when ralhly compared to the pro- ductions of Claude Loraine*. He had fome plates engraved from his landfcapes, while at Rome, which, together with fome pictures and other property, were brought to London after his deceafe, and fold by auction by Chriftie. At Rome he was employed by the Prince Borghefe to conduct the alterations which were made in the gardens of his villa, near the Porta Pinciana. executed in imitation of the modern * The following extract is taken from a late publication : '■ A few vears ago, " Prince Borghefe patronized Jacob Moore, who was the boaft of the Britifh " nation, and then ftudying at Rome as a landfcape painter. He not onlv felt " the beauties of Claude Loraine, but rivalled them. His own portrait, with an " accompaniment of foreft icenery, contributed by himfelf to the Chamber of M Painters in the Gallery at Florence, is an honourable teltimony of uncommon *' excellence." Vide Anecdotes of the Arts, &c. publiflied by the Rev. James Dallaway, m. b. r. s. a. quarto. Printed for Cadeil and Davies, 1S00. ftyle 214 Anecdotes of Painting. ftyle of gardening,* now practifed in England ; and it may be prefumed, that the Prince was perfectly fatisficd with Moore's exertions, as he teftified his approbation by fome very elegant prefents, which he bellowed upon the artift. Mr. Mooredied of afever at Rome in 1793, leaving a refpect- able property to his relations in London. DOMINIC SERRES, n. a. Born at Auch in Gafcony, and educated in the college of that city. When he was a young man, he left his friends rather ab- ruptl}', and went to the Weft Indies, which voyage was occa- fioned, as he faid himfelf, by a difappointment in a tender con- nexion. He llaid a few years at the Havannah, and afterwards entered on board a Spanifh fhip, in which he was taken prifoner, brought to England, and confined in the Marfhalfea prifon in. the Borough. There he married, and, when releafed, fettled in a mop upon London-bridge ; whence he removed to Piccadilly, nearly oppofite the Black Bear inn, where, in a fmall mop, he expofed his pictures at the window for fale, which M'ere moftly fea views, and fometimes landfcapes. In this fituation, it mould feem, that he acquired notice, as * There is a View of the Lake and Temple that form part of the alterations of thefe gardens, which was etched by A. C. Dico at Rome, and is dated 1?S8. from Anm h tes afPc - :•. 815 from this place he removed to ''.'anvick-ftreet, Golden-fquare, where he obtained much refpeetable employment, and acquired the patronage of fome gentlemen of rank in the navai depart- ment lathe year i:-:. Mr. Serres painted a large pi;"- ire ": i _ . enslavement between a French and Enelilh :. gate . ;on- light, in which the former claimed fome fort of merit in not being captured, as the Eagliih was obliged to retreat in co: - quence of another Fren: . Bel interfering. This picture the artift carried to Paris, where h was left, but upon what fpecnlar- tion the author never could learn. This was the only time in which the painter ever fa w Paris, although a native of France. He alio painted the Naval View of Lord Ho- - I :. _ _ement with the Combined Squadrons of France and S t - . :al- tar. 1788. It was done to accompany Mr. Coplej - lare, which is now in the Council Chamber at Guildhall. But Mr. Serres"s name was not announced to the public, when his work was exhibited in the Green Park. St Jan - - When the Royal Academy i as ..- ifiif ..:-... ^ as chofen one or" the member- . fome years _::er appoi: itc Marine Painter to the King. In January 1792, he was appointed Librarian to the Royal Academy ia the place of Mr. Wilton, who renamed that pelt upon being appointed Keeper. In mult be allowed, be was Bed than fome others who have enjoyed it for . .tolerable Latin fcholar, ipoke the Italian language perfectly, underftood the Spanim, and pof- felled fomething of the Portuguefe ; add to this, that few foreigners were better mafien of the Engliih language : but, what 2 1 6 Anecdotes of Painting. what "is ftill more to his praife, he was a very honeft and in- offenfive man, though in his manners un peu du Gafcon. He died at his houfe in St. George's-row, near Oxford Turn- pike, where he had refided feveral years, November the 3d, 1793, and was buried at Paddington. He left a widow, two fons, and four daughters ; the eldeft, who purfues the pro- feffion of his father, vifited Italy in 1790, and is now fettled in London ; the youngeft teaches drawing. GEORGE JAMES, a. Was grand fon to the perfon who built Meard's-court, Dean- ftreet, Soho. It is not known who was his inftructor in paint- ing, but he ftudied for fome years in Rome. On his return to London he fettled in Dean-ftreet, and prac- tifed as a portrait-painter ; but not being much employed, he went to Bath about the year 1780, where he was not more fortunate. After a few years refidence in that fafhionable city, ' he went to Boulogne Sur Mer, where, in common with many more of the Engliili, who then refided at that place, he was confined in prifon, under the fanguinary tyranny of Robefpierre. His con- ftitution funk under this oppreihon, and he died there fome time in the year 1794. He was one of the early affociates of the Royal Academy, yet as a painter could not befaid to rank very high in the pro- feffion ; but, as he inherited property, and alfo married a lady of Anecdotes of Painting. 21 7 of confiderable fortune, his circumftances were fufficient to fupport him in genteel independence, without the aid of his pencil. As a matter of pleafantry it may be allowed to obferve, that in the Exhibition of the year 1768, there was a large picture painted by this Artift, and announced in the Catalogue as " The Portraits of Three Young Ladies * of Quality j" upon which, the Critic of the day pronounced it to be the " Portraits of Three Young Ladies of no Quality at all !" which in truth was but a juft chara6leriftic of the work : It was tame and inelegant both in defign and execution, and, though carefully painted, did not poffefs the leaft traits of the hand of a mailer. SAMUEL HTERONIMO GRIMM. A native of Switzerland, who came to England about the year 1768. His chief employment was in drawing landfcapes and views of antiquity, in which he was not remarkably power- ful, yet had conftant employment, as his prices were low. His principal work was a drawing which he made for the Society of Antiquaries, after an ancient picture preferved in Windfor Palace ; the fubject — " The Departure of Henry the * The ladies were the daughters of the Countefs Waldegrave, now Duchefs of Gloucefter: they were at that time among the youthful and beautiful of the fex. F f Eighth 218 Anecdotes of Painting. Eighth for Boulogne * ;" from which drawing a print was en- graved by Bafire. The late Mr. Burrell, and the Rev. Sir Richard Kay, Bart, employed him much in making fketches and drawings for their topographical collections. He died at his apartments, Covent Garden, in June 1794, leaving a fmall property to his relations in Switzerland. JOHN WEBBER, r. a. Born in London ; but his father, who was a fculptor, was a native of Berne, in Switzerland. The fon received great part of his education as an artift in Paris, but afterwards entered the Royal Academy of London. In the laft voyage which Captain Cook made to the South Seas, Webber was appointed draughtfman to the expedition ; and when the two mips, the Difcovery and the Refolution, arrived at St. Peter and Paul, Kamtfchatka, Webber was obliged to act as interpreter between Captain Gower and Major Behm, he being the only perfon on board of either mip who underftood German. From this voyage he returned in 1780, when he was em- ployed by the Lords of the Admiralty to fuperintend the engraving of the prints, executed after the drawings which he * This picture has beenfince removed to the Society of Antiquaries. had Anecdotes of Painting. 219 had made, reprefenting the different events and fcenes that occurred in the voyage. When this work was concluded, he publithed, on his own ac- count, a fet of views of the different places he had vifited in the voyage. They were etched and aquatinted by himfelf, afterwards coloured, and produced a very pleating effect. This work mas in part completed, when his health declined, and, after lingering forfome months, he died April 29, 1793. His complaints were not understood till after his deceafe, when they were found to have proceeded from a decay of the kidneys. His works conlifted of paintings and drawings: the former were chiefly landfcapes, though he painted fome figures repre- fenting the inhabitants of the South Sea Illands. but thev were deficient in the drawing. His landfcapes were pleating, and carefully finiihed, with rather too much attention to the mi- nutiae, and the colouring frequently too gaudy. There is a picture painted by him in the Council Chamber of the Royal Academy ; but the beft picture of his hand is a fniall View, in the polYetnon of J. Farington, p». a. At his death he left a very decent property, acquired by hi> own induftry, and which defcended to his brother William, who is a feulptor. and was a pupil of the late Mr. Bacon. He was elecled an AlVociate of the Royal Academy, Novem- ber ?, 1765, and Royal Academician February 1791. r f 2 220 Anecdotes of Painting. MAURITIUS LOW. Whether confidered as an artift, or as a man, is not very de- ferring the notice of the biographer ; but, as he was the perfon who obtained the gold medal firft offered, by the Royal Academy, to the ftudent who mould produce the beft * hifto- rical picture, he cannot be pafled over in filence. He was the pupil of Mr. Cipriani, but improved little under his tuition. He was alfo admitted a ftudent of the Royal Academy, among the firft of thofe who entered that inftitution. In this fituation he made very flender advances in art, being too indolent and inattentive to his ftudies to attain any excel- lence. His character is rather favourably defcribed in the following paragraph, which appeared in one of the public papers foon after his death : " DIED, -{""Afew days ago, at an obfcure lodging at Weftminfter, " Mauritius Low, a painter of confiderable eminence in his " profeffion at ftarting, being the perfon the Royal Academy "firft fent to Italy, to paint a picture according to one of the " articles of their inftitution ; but being of a debauched habit w of mind, he painted no picture at Rome, but difTipated his * The fubjeft given for the piftures was, Time discovering Truth, with two other figures of Envy and Detradion. The fize, a half-length canvafs. -f from the Sun, September 19> 1793. " time --? '."¥»* ,1/jJ- Sam r e l i > son, lji., Anecdotes of Painting. 221 " time to no purpofe. He was a natural fon of the late Lord " Sutherland, from whom he had an annuity. He was much " efteemed by Dr. Johnfon, who bequeathed him a legacy, and "flood to one of his children as godfather. Some of his con- " verfations are recorded in Jemmy Bofwell's book. He was a " perfon of elegant education and agreeable addrefs." This account, like moil of the obituary anecdotes in the public papers, is partly true and partly falfe. Itmufl be allowed, that Mr. Lowe's conduct while at Rome, to which place he was fent by the Royal Academy in 1771, is juftly defcribed, but his being efteemed by Dr. Johnfon is extraordinary ; for Mr. Low's morals, and religious, or, rather irreligious, principles, muft have been very artfully concealed* or he never could have acquired fo much of the Doctor's good opinion as he certainly poffeffed. It muft alfo be obferved, that the legacy was left not to Mr. Low, but to his child, who was the Doctor's godfon. Of the elegance of his education, or of his agreeable addrefs, it would be difficult to produce any favourable proofs. It has been faid, that he was for a fhort time at Weftminfter fchool ; if fo, he acquired a very flender portion of improvement from that feminary. Mr. Low in his perfon was rather below the middle fize, but well made ; his features much injured by the fmall pox, and farther disfigured by the want of an eye, which he loft in infancy, and, as he himfelf faid, by the neglecl of his parents. As 222 Anecdotes of Painting. As an artift his abilities were very (lender, nor did he ever produce any work worthy of notice, except a long drawing of Homer reciting his Iliad to the Greeks ; the principal figures about nine inches high; but this was rather a fketch than a fmimed drawing. If it be afked, how Mr. Low, though deficient as an artift, could obtain the medal? it may with truth be faid, that he owed his fuccefs to the partiality of the Italian gentlemen, members of the Academy, who voted for him at the foli citation of Mr. Barretti, for whom Mr. Low had been a very favourable evidence on. his trial in ie year 1769. The other candidates upon this occafion were, Mr. Wm. Parry, Mr. Jas. Durno, Mr. Wm. Bell, of Newcaftle-upon-Tyne, and the Author of thefe Anecdotes ; who would be fulpecled of partiality, were he to attempt any farther comments upon the circumftance, than that of remarking, that Mr. Durno's picture pofTerTed infinitely more merit than that of Mr. Low. MIERS. A landfcape-painter, who came to England about the year 1788, after the democratic troubles in Holland, in which he had taken part, and therefore was obliged to quit his native country. His Anecdotes of Fainting. 223 His productions were generally fmall, feldom larger than the three-quarter canvafs, in which the figures, cottages, and trees were finifhed with great care, labour, and neatnefs ; but they do not poffefs that mafterly correctnefs which is to be found in the works of Oftade, the mailer whom he feems to have imitated. He worked much for fome of the picture-dealers, but received more pleafant encouragement from the liberality of George Bowles, Efq. of Wanftead. He executed feveral drawings, or rather pictures, in water- colours, in which the extreme neatnefs of handling is the more remarkable, they being produced by the procefs generally called body colours, and which is certainly the moft intractable method in which colours can be employed. He died of the gout at his lodgings in lierner's-ftreet, Oxford- road, February 1793. A picture on a half-length canvafs, which he painted for Mr. Grefs, was fold for thirty-three pounds twelve ihillings, in the fale of that gentleman's effects ; the fubject, a Waterfall. This was executed in a manner much more mafterly than the generality of his pictures, and probably was among the largeft of his works. The author has been fhewn fome etchings which were faid to be of his hand, but they are no more than outlines, and appear rather to be doubted. 524 Anecdotes of Fainting. L. GUTTENBRUNN. A native of Drefden, who came here about the year 1 789, and ftaid nearly three years. His name Hands in the Catalogue of the Exhibitions of the Royal Academy until 1792, about which time he went to Peterfburgh, by the advice and recom- mendation of the Ruffian Ambaffador. There he ftaid but a few years, yet long enough to acquire a fortune fufficient to gratify his wilhes, with which he retired to, and fettled at Berlin. He was a member of the Academy of Florence, and there- fore, it may be prefumed, had ftudied in Italy. He painted both portraits and hiftory ; the latter were chiefly fmall figures, of which kind there is a print after one of his pictures, engraved in the dotted manner by the brothers Faccius; the fubjecl, Apollo and The Mufes. It is but juftice to fay, that the print gives a very good idea of the picture, which is not a very ftriking fpecimen of great powers in the painter. This print was published by himfelf in 1794. The plate was afterwards fold to Mr. Colnaggi, and fome of the figures were altered by Mr. Bartolozzi. When the print was firft finifhed, moft of the heads of the female figures were portraits from Italian ladies then living. A necdotes of Painting. 225 CHARLES BENAZEE. The fon of an engraver of that name. He was many years abroad, M'here he ftudied as a painter. He painted both portraits and hiftory. Of the latter, there are fome fubjects reprefenting the melancholy Cataftrophe of the unfortunate Monarch of France, Louis the Sixteenth, from which prints have been engraved. His abilities as a painter were not very confiderable. He died in the fummer of 1 794. FRANCIS MILNER NEWTON, r. a. A portrait-painter, the fcholar of M. Teufcher. As an artift, he never produced any diftinguifhed works ; but, if his abilities did not qualify him to acquire fame, he was fo far favoured by fortune, that through marriage, and the partiality of friends, who left him legacies, that before his death he pofleffed a very ample income. At a time when the artifts were accuftomed to aflemble for their mutual benefit, before they obtained a charter, Mr. Newton was generally chofen Secretary, and when they were incor- porated, he was appointed to the fame office. This fituation lie religned, in confequence of the difputes that took place among the members of that body. At the foundation of the Royal Academy he was chofen a G g member • 326 Anecdotes of Painting. member ; he was alfo appointed the firft Secretary to that inftitution ; and, when the buildings at Somerfet Place were finiihed, he had apartments allotted to him, where he refided until December J 788, when, finding the duties of his fituation increafe beyond his declining powers, he refigned • his poft, and was fucceeded by Mr. Richards. Mr. Newton had for fome years a houfe at Hammerfmith, as a country refidence. It is fingular, that when he returned there, after leaving the Academy, the firft information he re- ceived was, the death of an old acquaintance, named Earle, and that he had left him a large fortune ; in confequence of which, he retired to Somerfetfhire, on a part of the eftate bequeathed to him, where he died the latter end of Auguft 1794, at Barton Houfe, near Taunton. He was for feveral years Deputy Mufter M after of England, but quitted that engagement fome years before his death. In deteftation of the cruelty of fuch parents as Mr. Earle, the author may furely be allowed to relate, that in making Mr. Newton his heir, he difinherited an only fon, who had com- mitted no other fault than that of marrying a woman without fortune: nor was Mr. Newton in the leaft inclined to mitigate the feverity of the parent's conduct, for liberality, unhappily, formed no part of his character. * Upon his relignation, the Council of the Royal Academy prefented him with an elegant filver cup of the value of eighty guineas. Paint i- ig JOHN" ALEXANDER GRESSE, Bom in London, but h: i : Rolle, on the L_ ':•:- .: Geneva. The fon received his firft rudiments in drawing from Scotin, the tns^aver— was afterwards a fhort time under the tuitior . -nd, after quitting him, was under the care of Mr. Cipriani, with whom he leveral years, during wi time he aifo received fome inltructions from Zucarelli. among the firft of thole who attended the Duke :: Richmond's Gallery. He loon after entered the Academ; Sf Ifarl s-lane. In both thefe fltuations he obtained pre- miums, being one of the firft candidates who claimed the nc : of the Societv, then newlv eftablimed, for the Encouragement * • — of - i c. Though his talents were good, his application and enen- re not of the :rce ne: :o enfure fucceis in the higher department Art; and inheriting a decent fortune from his er*, he added to it by the profefEon of a drawing-ma: in which he acquired high reputation and great pra md qott ttand, was .he tuber, and was - . : before wbkh time tbe fpace bad been gardens b elong i n g to tbe -in*"" i a£ A wealthy brewer, who formerly rended in Tfrrrmhaai mart rmri g I 228 Jlnecdotes of Painting. in May 1777, he had the honour of being appointed drawing mafter to the Princefs Royal, and the younger Princefles. In his youth he executed several drawings for Mr. Boydell, and alfo etched the figures, &c. which are in Kennedy's Account of the Statues and Pictures at the Earl of Pembroke's, at Wilton, though it mud be confeffed that thofe plates received much improvement from the affiftance of Mr. Bartolozzi. There are alfo extent four other etchings by his hand; one, a View of Framlingham Caftle, Suffolk ; another, a Cottage ; alfo two figures, one of which, a St. Jerome, is mentioned by Baffan in his Catalogue ; the fourth is from Nicholo Pouffin, the fubjecl a Satyr fleeping, the fize of which plate is twelve inches by nine. All thefe are fcarce. He died February 19, 1794, in the fifty-third year of his age, and was buried at St. Ann's, Soho, leaving a widow, from whom he had been divorced by the Ecclefiaftical Court fome years. As he died without relations, he bequeathed his fortune to different friends, among which he kindly included the writer of thefe Anecdotes, who would confider himfelf as guilty of ingratitude, were he to pafs over the circumftance in filence. DAVID ALLAN, Was a native of Edinburgh, who received much patronage from Sir William Erfkine. He painted portraits and biftorical iubjecls. He was for feveral years at Rome, whence he returned in Anecdotes of Tainting. 229 in the year l ? 77, and refided in London a few years. About the year 178O he fettled in his native city, where he fucceeded Mr. Runcimanas the mafter of the * Academy, which is there eftabliflied, for the introduction of Youth in the Arts ofDefign, that they may be qualified to conduct the decorative depart- ments of the various manufactories of that place. He died at Edinburgh in Auguft 1796". There are feveral prints publifhed after his pictures, one of which is engraved — the fubjecl, The Origin of Painting, or, the Corinthian Maid drawing the fhadow of her Lover. There are alfo four prints, which were executed in aqua tinta by Mr. Paul Sandb} 7 , from drawings made by Mr. Allan while at Rome, which reprefent the Sports and Employments of the People during the Carnival, in the Corfo. Several of the figures introduced in them, are portraits of perfons well known to the Engli/h who vifited Rome between the years 17 70 and 178O. BENJAMIN VANDERGUTCHT, Was the fon of Gerrard Vandergutcht, the engraver, who is mentioned by Mr. Walpole in his Catalogue of Engravers.f It is remarkable that Benjamin, who was one of twins, was * This Academy, which is a public inftitution, is now under the care of Mr. Graham, anartift, who refided for fome years in London, t Page 221, oftavo edition, 1782. the 23O Anecdotes of Painting. the tliirty-fecond child of his parents, who both furvived to a very advanced age.* The father who was bred an engraver, engaged as a picture dealer, but the fon Benjamin began his career as a painter, on which account he entered the Academy in St. Martin's-lane ; and, at the foundation of the Royal Academy, was admitted one of the firft ftudents in that inftitution. He for fome time purfued the arts, and produced fome pictures of very confider- able promife ; one of the moft ftriking was, a half-length por- trait of Woodward, the comedian, which was in the exhibition of the Royal Academy in 1774, and afterwards prefented by the artift to the Governors of the Lock Hofpital, where it is ftill to be feen in the Committee Room. He alio painted feveral portraits from other actors in different dramatic fcenes, after which there are prints in mezzotinto ; alfo one of David Garrick, as Steward of the Stratford Jubilee, from whom the young artift received fome patronage. Whatever promife thefe works might indicate as to the abili- ties of the artift, he appeared not himfelf to be much encouraged by the profit they procured to him, for he quitted the practice of painting, and adhered to the trade which his father had eftablifhed before him, namely, that of dealing in pictures; to which he added, the bufmefs of cleaning them; which lad employment gave occafion to his unfortunate death, which happened in the following manner. He was employed to clean and repair the pictures at Bur- * The father died 1776, aged eighty, and the mother furvived fome years. 1 lington-houfe, Anecdotes of Painting. 2 31 lington-houfe, Chifwick, whence he generally croffed the Thames in the evening, to a houfe which had at Eaft Sheen. In this paffage, when near Barnes Terrace, the boat was run down by a barge, under which poor Mr. Vandergutcht fank and perifhed. It was fuppofed that he ftruck his head againft the bottom of the vetTel, for he was an expert Avimmer, and, though foon found, yet no means could-reftore him to anima- tion. There were alfo in the boat two women and an infant ; the latter floated and was taken up fafe, but one of the women perifhed. This fatal accident took place on the twenty-firft of September ] 794. At the time of his death, his town refidence was in Lower Brook-ftreet, Grofvenor-fquare, the fame in which his father lived feveral years, and where he had built a large room to hold his pictures. This room was greatly improved by the son, in which he arranged his collection, and exhibited them to his friends and the amateurs of art, who were invited and admitted by tickets given for that purpofe: Strangers paid a milling on admiffion. Before this room was opened, he refided a fhort time in Pall Mall, in a houfe where the Shakfpeare Gallery now ftands, but quitted thofe premifes in confequence of the following event. He had fold a picture to Mr. Defenfans, but, after the pur- chafe,' a difpute took place, whether it was an original of Pouffin, or only a copy. This terminated in a lawfuit, in which feveral eminent artifts gave their different opinions ; but the defendant loft his caufe, the majority pronouncing it to be a copy ; therefore the picture was returned, and the purchafe money 2 3C Anecdotes of Painting. money paid back. It is. however, but juftice to obferve, that S : J. Reynolds gave it as his private opinion, that the picture difpute was an original, but he was not ihbpoenaed upon the occaiion, owing to (bine mifunderftanding which had taken place between him and Vandergutcht, prior to the litigation. tei his i -;etion of pictures and other produc* tionsofart uere fold at auction by Chriftie, at his rooms. Pall Mall, March the nth and 12th, 1796. JAMES DURNO. H:s father was a native of the Xorth. who, in the latter part of] - .. refidedat Kenfington Gravel Pits, the proprietor of a y. The ion was firlt a fcholar of Canau, and afterwards received fome inftructions from Mr. Weft, whom lie alio aililted in fome of the duplicates of his pictures. He chiefly practifed as an hiftorical painter, and in the vear 1771, obtained a premium of thirty guineas for an hiftorical od again in 1772. one hundred guineas, being the firft premium given that year for thebeft hiftorical picture. He alio affifted Mr. Mortimer in the ceiling which he painted for Lord Meibourn, at Brocket Hall, Herts, about the year 1771. I: ::~4. he left England and went to Rome, where he chiefly refided till his death. Is. Boydell's Shakefpeai Gallery there was but two pictures Qted by Durno when at Rome ; the fubjects were. Falftaff railing Anecdotes :■• Pointing. raiting Recruits, and in the Difgnife of :he Old Woman of Brentford : but thefe works did not anfwer the expectations of tbofe for whom they were painted. He died at Rome the latter part of the yea: 1793 STEPHEN ELMER, a. ainter of dead game and foil life, in which line of art he produced feveral good pictures, and was confidered as the fuperior artitt of his time for the reprefentation of tbofe objects which are familiar to the fportfmari. the cook, and the ben He refded chiefly at Farnham in Sanrcy, where he dealt as a roaltfter, and where he thought himfelf conveniently lituated to purfue his favourite ltudy. but which he intimated to be much more pleafant than profitable to him. At what time he died is not exactly known; but he :o exhibit in 1 795, that being the laft time that his name appears in the Exhibition Catalogue of the Royal Acade which inftitution he had fc: -I years been i able alloc i a At his death, he left his collection of pictures and other pro- perty to a nephew, who, in the fpring of 1 * ade an exhi- bition and fale of his i _reat room in the Haj market, the fame which had belonged to Ford the auc- tioneer. title of the catalogue., which contained the defcriptio- H h :*..:- 234 A necdo tes of Pa in ting. the pictures, was, Elmer's Sport/man's Exhibition. It contained a lift of one hundred and forty-eight pictures painted by Mr. Elmer ; among which were, fix Heads, from one of which there is a print : to thefe were added fome few by old mafters, which the artift had collected. Many were fold, and certainly at no defpicabie prices, as may be fuppofed by the following lift: 1. a Dead Hare, on a three-quarter canvafs, eighteen guineas ; 2. Water Spaniel and Heron, on a half-length can- vafs, thirty guineas ; 3. Dead Hare and Brace of Woodcocks, half-length canvafs, twenty-five guineas ; 4. The Politician — an old man reading news, kit-cat fize, thirty guineas. The following year thefe pictures were removed to a houfe in Gerrard-ftreet, Soho, which by fome accident caught fire on the night of the fixth of February 1801, and was totally con- fumed, together with a collection of the works of Mr. Woollet, comprehending proofs of all his principal works, from his earlieft to his laft productions. This unfortunate event dimi- nifhed the number of Mr. Elmer's pictures, but did no great injury to the fortune of the nephew, as he recovered the fum of three thoufand pounds, as their value, from the Infurance Office. GEORGE CARTER. Born at Colchefter, Effex, of inferior parents, and educated in the free fchool of that town. He firft appeared in London in. the quality of a fervant, afterwards became mopman to Mr. l King, Anecdotes of Painting. 235 King, the mercer, and then engaged as partner in the fame line of bufinefs with another perfon in Chandos-ftreet, Covent-gar- den. But they failed in a few years, when he announced hiin- felf as a painter ; and, being a man of good perfon and fpeci- ous a dd re fs, he infinuated himfelf into the fociety of fome of the artifts, whofe affiftance he obtained in the correction of his imperfect productions. It is unknown by what contrivance he procured the means of travelling, but he vilited Rome, Peteriburgh, Gibraltar, and, lad of all, the Eaft Indies. At the firft place he affected to ftudy the art, though his flay was too ihort for him to acquire any advantage by the vifit ; but at other places, when his purfuit was gain, he had the art to -acquire a fufficient for- tune to enable him to retire to what he called his cottage, at Hendon, where he died, though at what time I cannot now afcertain. His prints and other articles were fold at auction by Greenwood, in May 1795. In the Exhibition of the Royal Academy 1778, there was a picture painted by him, which he afterwards prefented to the church of St. James, Colchefter ; the fubject, The Adoration of the Shepherds. Whoever views that production, will be iiaclined to pity the imbecility of the artift, if they do not reflect, that nothing but great effrontery could poffibly ft'tmu- late a man to prefent fo wretched an offering at the altar. Early in the year 1785, he made an exhibition of his works at the fame room, in Pall Mall, which had been ufed by the Royal Academy at its firll foundation. The catalogue to this Exhibition fpecifies thirty-five articles, h h 2 nine 336 Anecdotes of Painting. nine of which are fo curioufly and pompoufly described, that the reader may probably be entertained with a few extracts, which are faithfully given from the original, now become ex- tremely scarce. After the title, the defcription of the pictures is introduced by the following little proem : — c< Thefe pictures were all painted without commiffion — the motive to celebrate good men and " brave actions they are now at the difpofal of any Noble- " man or Gentleman who may wifli to poflefs either the whole, " or a part of them." The catalogue then enumerates nine pictures, with their de- fcriptions, fome of which nearly fill a quarto page. They are as follows : " No. l. Siege of Gibraltar. " No. 2. Her Royal Highnefs the Princefs Royal conducting " the young unmarried Nobility to the Altar of " the Graces. " No. 3. The Immortality of Garrick. " No. 4. The Death of * Cook. " No. 5. The Death of Sir Philip Sidney. " No. 6. Floating Batteries. " No. 7. The Death of -f Farmer. " No. 8. The School of Shenftone. " In imitation of Spencer.'' The defcription of the lad-mentioned picture is fo curious, * Capt. Cook. f Cap*. Farmer, of th e Quebec. that Anecdotes of Pain ting. 237 that the reader can hardly be difpleafed with the follow inp- extract. " Beautiful poem ! that renovates, in the moft pleafing tones, " all the little frolics and wayward paffions of childhood*. " The author was fo captivated with the defcription of this " fchool, that he fcarcely ever loft fight of it for up- " wards of four years, although at that time he travelled " many thoufand miles ; he was therefore induced to paint " it, that his thoughts might be at liberty to embrace other "Subjects." How far the artift's mind might be invigorated by the relief he found in the ufe of his pencils upon this occa- fion, cannot be determined, but certainly his after embraces of other fubjecls were not fufficiently vigorous to produce any thing more than abortions of art, fimilar to thofe which he then exhibited. " No. 9. Twelve o'Clock (its companion.)" The fubjecl of this picture is compofed from the latter part of the fame poem, in which the poet defcribes " the wayward frolics" of the children after they are difmiffed from fchool. The rett of the exhibition confifted of inferior fubjecls, par- ticularly Views of the Fortrefs of Gibraltar; " which, mould " they meet the public approbation, he may probably have " them engraved in aqua tinta." Such was the probability in * Sic orig. We prefume the painter meant as follows : " The artijl was fo captivated with the poet's, defcription of a country fchool." the 23S Anecdotes of Painting. the mind of the artift, but the public did not furniih. approbation fufficient to enable him to produce the prints. He published feveral prints, taken from the pictures juft men- tioned, in which the merits of his performances are fully illuf- trated. He alfo publiflied, an Account of the Lofs of the Grofvenor Indiaman, collected from a feaman who was on board the fhip, and made his way with great difficulty to the Cape of Good Hope. In the title to this work, he flyles himfelf hiftorical painter. GEORGE WILLISON. A native of Scotland, who ftudied forfome time as a painter at Rome. Upon his return to England, he fettled in Greek-ftreet, Soho, where he refided in 1771, and the following year, and was an exhibitor at the Royal Academy in the fame years. Not meeting with much employment, he went to the Eaft Indies, where by his pencil, affifted by friendly connexions, he ac- quired a fortune, upon which he returned to his native foil, and fettled in Edinburgh, where he died about the year 1795. The pictures which he painted before he went to the Eaft are flat and feeble in the drawing, but have fome attempt at colouring. Mr. Willifon, before his death, was confidered as the richeft commoner of his country in jewels, as fome perfon of large fortune in the Eaft had bequeathed him the whole of his pro- perty, Anecdotes of Painting. 259 perty, much of which confifted in thefe valuable articles. This acquifition he obtained through the fkill he poffeffed in phyfic, by which he was enabled to cure his benefactor of a wound, with which he had been long and painfully afflicted, and there- fore in acknowledgment left him his heir. ANTONIO ZUCCHI, a. A native of Italy ; was introduced to this country by Meffrs. Adams, the architects, by whom he was principally employed in painting decorations for the edifices which they ereded in different parts of the kingdom. The fubjecls of his peucil were poetic-hiftory, ruins, and orna- ments, all which he painted in a light and pleafant manner, but with no folid learning or power in art. Some of his performances may be feen at the Queen's Houfe, in St. James's Park, where there is a ceiling painted by him. There is alfo much of his work at Ofterley * Park. After refiding here feveral years, he quitted f London, and retired to Rome, in company with Angelica Kauffman, where he continued to his death, which happened the latter part of December 1795. He was an Affociate of the Royal Academy. * This Teat was originally built by Sir Thomas Grefham, and was lately poffeffed by Robert Child, Efq. from whom it defcended to his grand-daughter, the prefent Countefs of Jerfey. t In Auguft 1781 . 240 Anecdotes of Painting. JOHN MEDINA, A portrait painter, was grandfon to Sir John Medina, mentioned by Mr. Walpole in the third volume of his Anecdotes. He relided fome time in London, and was an exhibitor in the year 1772, and the fucceeding year. In a daily- paper of October the 5th, t 796, fome account was given of this artift, in confequence of his death, which happened the latter end of the preceding September, at Edinburgh; of which place he was mod probably a native, as his grandfather was long fettled there, who, as Mr. Walpole obferves, was the laft perfon knighted in Scotland before the Union. It is curious to note, that the writer of the paragraph above mentioned, fays nothing of his abilities as a " limner" for fo he ftyles him, but obferves, " that the public at large have juft " caufe to deplore his lofs, from thatfuperior profefiional talent " of which he Mas poffeffed, of refcuing from decay and ruin 11 fome of the belt collections of pictures in the kingdom, a recent " inftance of which occurred of that of our Scotti/h kings, in the " palace of Holyrood Houfe, the renovation of which will long " appear as monuments of his unrivalled merit. With him ends, " in the male line, the name of Medina in this country." This is indeed a fpecimen of injudicious praife ; for, if the chief merit of Mr. Medina confifted in cleaning or renovating decayed pictures, his claim to the reputation of an artift may well be denied to him, without the imputation of injuftice or feverity. ^K-v /v>w. T J**jr- KJohn Medina. A necdotes of Painting, g 4 I H. W. SCHWEICKHARDT, A native of Holland, who, in confequence of the diiturbances of that State, came to England in the year ] 786. He refided a few years in London, and painted cattle and landfcape, particularly froft pieces, and was a frequent exhi- bitor at the Royal Acadtmy. His pictures were of that clafs which the Italians diftinguifh by the title of pafticcios, rather than original compofitions; but they were executed in a neat, pleafant ftyle, which was their principal merit. There is a colleftion of prints of animals, which were etched and dedicated by him to Mr. Weft. This little work was pub- liflied by Meffrs. Boydell, and is dated J 788. He ceafed to exhibit in the year 1796, about which time he returned to Holland. He ftyled himfelf " Director of the Academy at the Hague." WILLIAM HODGES, r.a. The only child of his parents, M'as born in London. His father was a fmith, who kept a fmall fhop in St. James's-market. When young, he was fent to Shipley's drawing fchool. where he received the early part of his education as an artiit ; whence he was taken by Mr. Wilfon, the landicape-painter, a-s an affiftant and pupil. After he quitted his matter he refided alternately in London and the country, particularly at Derby, M : here he painted fome fcenes for the Theatre of that town. I i About 242 Anecdotes of Painting. About the fame period he painted an interior View of the Pantheon, Oxford-road, which, if not quite fo correct as might be wifhed, is yet the beft reprefentation that now remains of that once beautiful building. Though pofleffed of much ingenuity, yet his employment was not equal to his wiflies: he therefore prudently accepted an appointment to go as draughtfman in the fecond vo3'age to the South Seas, which was conducted under the command of Capt. Cook. This fituation he obtained through the intereft of the late Lord Palmerfton, at that time one of the Lords of the Admiralty. After an abfence of three years he returned in 1775, and for fome time was employed to arrange the drawings which he had made in the voyage, and to fuperintend the execution of the plates which were engraved after them, to ferve as illuftrations £>f the narrative. He alfo painted fome pictures for the Admiralty, of Scenes at Otaheite and LHieta. Soon after he returned, he married and fettled at Pimlico ; but his young wife dying in child-bed, and he himfelf not meeting with much employment after he had completed the bufinefs of the Admiralty, he left England for the Eaft Indies; where, being aflifted by the patronage of Mr. Warren Haftings, he acquired a very decent fortune, and returned to England in June l 7 84. Soon after his arrival he married a fecond wife, who was niece to Mr. Vv hitehurft *, and fettled in a houfe in Queen-ftreet, * Author of the Theory of the Earth, and other works. May- Anecdotes of Painting. 243 May-fair, wliere he built a handfome painting-room, intending to purfue the art. But he again met with an interruption of his domeftic comforts, for this lady alfo died a few months after marriage. But this lofs he repaired in lefs than twelve months, by mar- rying Mifs Carr, a very amiable young lady, who was an excellent performer on the piano-forte, having been educated for the profeffion of mufic, under the tuition of that very able mafter Mr. Charles Weftley. About the year 1790, he made a trip to the Continent, and collected fome Views upon the Rhine. He alfo vifited Peterf- burgh, whether at the fame time or afterwards is not known to the author; but, in the year 1793, he fent a View of that City to the Royal Academy Exhibition, which was by no mean one of his inferior works. When the Pantheon, Oxford-road, was converted into a theatre for Operas, in confequence of the deftruction of that in the Hay market*, Mr. Hodges was appointed to paint the fcenes; but his productions were not fatisfaClory. In truth, he was not perfectly qualified for fuch undertakings; for, in archi- tecture and perfpective, thofe eflential requifites in the decora- tions of the ftage, he had but (lender knowledge, though a little too much vanity. It is not pleafant to reflect, that although this gentle- man had, in the early part of his life, experienced many of * The Opera Houfe in the Haymarket was burnt down in the evening of .lane 1~, 17S9, and the Pantheon,- Oxford-road, early in the morning of January 14, 1792. •ii2 thofe 244 Anecdotes of Painting. thofe difficulties which are confequent to the purfuits of pro- feffional profit and fame, yet he was not in mature age prudent to retain that decent competency which he had acquired in India. This miftaken conduct was probably owing to his defire of appearing as an artift of high rank, and to the hope of thereby procuring employment; for it mould in juftice be obferved, that he was by no means guilty of extravagance or diilipation. But, whatever was the caufe, he found his fortune impaired : he therefore endeavoured to employ what remained in eftablifljing a banking-houfe at Dartmouth in Devonshire, where he fettled in 1795. But the commercial intereft of that town furTerino; from the devaftations of the French at New- foundland. his houfe experienced a mock that completely ruined his finances, which, affecting his health, brought on a fit of the gout in his ftomach, of which he died March the 6th, 1797, about fifty-three years of age, leaving an amiable widow, who was fo deeply affected by grief and reflection on her deftitute Situation, that fhe did not furvive her hufband more than three months. Of this gentleman's abilities as an artift it is not eafy to form a juft eftimate. Educated as he was under a mafter not over careful in finifliing hi- pictures, like too many of thofe pupils who endeavour to imitate their matters, he copied more of Wilfon's defects than of his perfections ; in confequence of which, his works in general have too much the appearance of that neglect, which has been confidered as the effects of floven- linefs united with the affectation of maftery. Mod of his pictures are Views after Nature : the belt of 4 which Anecdotes of Painting. 245 which are three or four that he painted in India, and which he brought with him to England ; together with a View of Windfor, taken from the Great Park, which may be confidered as his beft picture. In fubjects of compofition he painted but few, and of thofe which he produced, the greater part mould be confidered as compilations from the old mailers, rather than original feleclions from nature of his own choice. Of the latter kind he painted two or three for Mr. Boydell's Shakfpeare. In all his productions he difcovered too little attention to the true fimilitude of the objects he reprefented. This fault pervaded the drawings which he made in the voyage to the South Seas, and was objected to them by thofe who had before vifited the places whence the Views were taken. After his return from India he publilhed feveral works, as follows : Four prints, engraved after pictures painted by himfelf, of Views in India. They were executed by different artifts. A collection of Views in India, executed in great part by himfelf in aqua tinta. Large folio. Dedicated to the Hon, Eaft India Company. Travels in India in 1780, 81, 82, and 83, by William Hodges, r. a. decorated with Plates engraved from his De- figns. The expenfe attending the execution of the above-mentioned works, is faid to have injured his fortune. The lail works which clofed the career of this artift's purfuits in painting, were two pictures which he painted, and afterwards exhibited 246 Anecdotes of Painting. exhibited in a room in Old Bond-ftreet; in which works he made a vain attempt to produce what might be called a didactic ftyle of landfcape ; and he endeavoured to explain his intentions by a fort of catalogue raifonne, which was given to thofe who vifited his exhibition. The titles of the pictures were, The Effecls of Peace and War*. But as it would be impoffible to explain the intention of the painter, or to defcribe the pictures in language more appropriate than what he employed in his catalogue, the fol- lowing extracts are given : " TO THE PUBLIC. " It is ufual for every exhibitor of works of art to ftate, '•' with different degrees of modefty, the nature of thofe objects " to which he prefumes to folicit the public attention and " encouragement. " I have the lefs fcruple to avail myfelfof the cuftom, as " my peculiar plan demands fome little explanation, that my " defign may be fully known, and my labours fairly appre- " ciated. '■' The branch of painting, towards which my ftudies have " been principally directed, is landfcape. Thefe ftudies were " begun under the greateft modern mafter of thai art, Wilfon. " I muft be permitted to value myfelf upon fuch an advantage, " which I hope very extenfive travels through various countries " muft have improved. * There are prints after thefe pi&ures. The originals are in the colle&ion of ' Soane, Efq. the architect. " Upon Anecdotes of Fainting. <2AT " Upon maturely reflecting on the nature of my profeffion, " I have been led to lament a defect, and humbly to endea- " vour at a remedy. 1 found in the ancient and in many of " the modern matters of landfcape, the grandeft combinations " of nature, and the mod exact fimilitude, the happieft com- " pofition, and pencilling governed by the hand of Truth. " But I confefs there feemed very rarely to me any moral pur- " pofe in the mind of the artift. The dorm has been collected " over the peaceful trader, or the brilliant fkies of Italy have " illumined merely the forms of inanimate nature. We have " feen foliage frowning on one fide, and the blafted trunk " exhibiting its dreary defolation on the other; but the whole " has evinced only the ordinary progrefs of life, and the effects " of elemental war. " It could not efcape me, that the other branches of the art " had achieved a nobler effect — -Hiftory exhibited the actions " of our heroes and our patriots, and the glory of part ages — ■ " and even Portrait, though more confined in its influence, " ftiengthened the ties of focial exiftencc. To give dignity to " landfcape painting is my object. Whatever may be the value " of my execution, the defign to amend the heart while the " eye is gratified, will yield me the pureit pleafure by its fuc- " ccfs. I may flatter myfelf even with an influence that fliall " never be acknowledged ; and the impreflion of thefe flight " productions may be felt xwjujler habits of Thought, and Con- " duct confequently improved. From flight caufes, the Author " of our minds has ordained that we mould derive moft import- " ant convictions. Peiiiaps the enthufiafm of the artift cai- " ries. £48 Anecdotes of Painting. ' lies me too far; but I hope and truft that my progrefs in this " defign may be ferviceable to my country, and to humanity. " The firft fruits of this purpofe I now prefent to the Public. " Making it, as every good man ihould do, a matter of con- ' fcience, I mail not defifl: from the profecution of my object. '' My pictures will conftantly be leffons, fometimes of what " refults from the impolicy of nations, or fometimes from the " vices and follies of particular claffes of men. Thefe illuf- " trations will be wide and various — from Europe and Afia, " wherever the moralift can draw the fubftance of his animad- " verfion, I mall feleci the fubjecl; of my pictures. The tafk " is arduous and new, but I refolve to purfue it with vigour " and fidelity. " Requefting attention to the defcriptive character of the " pictures now exhibited, I leave my caufe with confidence to " the judgment, and, I mould hope, the feelings of the " people. W. H." \ " The EFFECTS of PEACE, " and the CONSEQUENCES of WAR. " In the firft are intended to be fhown the bleffings enjoyed by the happieft conflitution, and fupported by a vigorous executive government. ** The fcene reprefents a fea-port thronged with fhipping, expreffive of Commerce ; the great public buildings denote its Riches ; a large bay opening to the ocean, merchant " fhips Anecdotes of Painting, 249 " fhips going out, others returning, ihew the extenfion of its " trade to the moft diftant quarters of the globe. . :f r : - _ . one of which was a portrair of that as^cft peribaage, pa^y d : but a few by the decea: xe of bis relatives, whefe ibrtirces fefl into fais pocet&oa. Bj tab acqahitMm be va= :-:t:-:i:rr. :e. - ..: : ^-.: : -■= :_ ::r-: :-i;:.";. ir__ :::::. : ; = of eisirr-i.!. TLLIAM BELL. A r : I ; C: audi, for the befc Lhtorical ti: :l± ^ :::r _ ir ;' :i. -:; :; :f; Low. je again became a candidate for the «old medal*, -_- r. .'.:i:.t'. it. Hi :'r::e:*5 " ii :~.ij :: U: ::. ;- x.r circuniftance : Mr. Wiffiam Hamilton, then a §mciz: a candidate ; bat it was dlieovered that bis picture bad been t;-;ici _" :n -7 - ? xxrer Mr Zxr: ... . :':: ^xx .-_x * ; J:xx v r - ;;;:;; .- x:r— x xx .: x _x xx :•; ::::;-;: as the genuine work c Hamihoo, and that . .- - - - r " 264 Anecdotes of Painting. picture, as the next in merit, was therefore entitled to the prize. He was much patronized by Sir John Delaval (i\ow Lord Delaval), and, while he was in London, refided at his Lordftiip's houfe. In the year 1775 he exhibited two views of his patron's feat*, but their merit did not fufficiently imprefs the author to enable him from memory to defcribe them. At the fame feat are feveral whole-length portraits of his Lordfhip's family, which were painted by Mr. Bell, but they are of inferior quality. After he left his Lordfhip, he refided at Newcaftle, where he fubfifted by painting portraits, but did not acquire much em- ployment. He died there in 1800, or foon after, at about fixty years of age. MICHAEL ROOKER, (Or, MICHAEL ANGELO ROOKER.) In his Will, which was written by his own hand, he figned himfelf Michael Rooker, commonly called Michael Angelo Rooker ; which additional name he affumed, becaufe his early inftructor, Mr. Paul Sandby, in a jocular way, added Angelo to the other names. * Seaton Delaval, one of the feats of Lord Delaval, is fituated near the fea coaft, about fix miles north of Tynemouth, in the county of Northumberland. It is a noble edifice, built by Sir John Vanbrugh. He Anecdotes of Painting. 265 He was the fon of Mr. Edward Rooker, mentioned in another part of this work, and by him was taught the ufe of the graver. He was afterwards placed under the care of his father's friend, P. Sandby, to be inftructed in drawing and painting land- scape. He firft appeared as an engraver ; in which capacity he gave early proofs of ability, which were confirmed by his mature productions, excellent fpecimens of which may be feen in a View of Wollerton Hall, Nottinghamihire, and in many other prints which he engraved. But his talents were not confined to the graver, for he aifo employed the pencil, and in 1772 exhibited a View of Temple Bar, which he painted as it then appeared. The picture has confiderable merit. He was for feveral years employed as principal fcene-painter to Mr. Colman's Theatre in the Haymarket ; and in fome thea- trical burlefque pieces which were performed on that flage, his name was announced to the public in the bills of the day with an Italianized termination — " Signor Rookerini." In the fummer feafon he general vifited fome part of the country, where he felected Views, of which he afterwards made finifhed drawings; fo that at his death he poffeffed a very numerous collection of topographical drawings of great merit. But his powers as an engraver were excellent ; in confe- quence of which he was many years engaged to engrave the head pieces to the Oxford Almanacks, for which productions he received fifty pounds each. But this engagement he relin- quifhed a few years before his death, becaufe he diflikedthe M m practice - ■ 266 Anecdotes of Tainting. pra6lice of engraving. They were executed from his own drawings, and it is to be lamented, that he preferred no regular feries or collection of thofe excellent prints, which certainly exhibit fome of the beft Views which have been taken in that eleg v ant city. A few years before his death he loft his fituation as fcene- painter at Colman's Theatre, which was occafioned by his refuting to join in the liquidation of the Manager's debts. This circumftance affected his health, and, after lingering for fome months, but without fymptoms of great danger, he died fud- denly in his chair, at his lodgings in Dean-ftreet, Soho, March 3d, 1801, about fifty-eight years of age, and was buried at St. Giles's in the Fields. His drawings, of which he left, as before obferved, a large collection, together with his pictures and painting utenfils, were fold by auction at Squibb's Room, Saville-row, (four days fale) the firft week in May after his death, and produced £. 1,240. Mr. Rooker was chofen one among thofe who were ele&ed the firft AfTociates of the Royal Academy ; and it ought to be obferved, that, though fomething rough in his manners, he was a man of integrity and honefty. ARLAND. A native of Geneva, who painted portraits in miniature. He refided in London at two different periods, where he met 1 with Anecdotes of Painting. 267 with encouragement, but returned to his native fpot, the laft time, in 1801. He fuffered much in his circumftances by the depredations of the French, and loft property in their funds. His works had confiderable merit, and he was a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy. GUY HEAD. A native of Carlifle, whofe father was a houfe-painter in that city. He praclifed painting, and gave fo much promife in the art, that he obtained the friendihip of a gentleman who enabled him to vifit Italy. His productions were chiefly copies, of which he made many ; and there are fome originals of his hand in the colledion of Thomas Hope, Efq. in Duchefs- ftreet, Portland-place, which are not without merit, though they are rather too dry in their contour, and not very brilliant in their colouring. He died in London in the early part of the year 1801. In March 1805, feveral of his works were put to fale by auclion at Mr. King's room, in King-ftreet, Covent-garden ; but they were not much noticed by the public, as they were chiefly copies from the works of the old mailers, which are painted in Frefco at Rome ; and by the number which he produced, one might be led to fuppofe that he had no other idea of the method of ftudy in art, than the conftant employment in m m 2 making 268 Anecdotes of Tainting. making copies, a flaviih procefs, by which no folid acquirements can ever be made. FRANCIS WHEATLEY, e. a. Born in London : his father was a tailor. He received his firft inftruction as anartiftin Shipley's fchool, and, M'hen young, obtained feveral premiums from the Society for the Encourage- ment of Arts, &c. By the ftrength of his natural abilities, he acquired a con- fiderable portion of ikill as a painter ; and, having obtained the friendfhip of Mr. Mortimer, he increafed his knowledge in the art, and affifted that gentleman in painting the ceiling at Brocket Hall, Herts, the feat of Lord Melbourne. He had before been employed in the decorations at Vauxhall. It is to be lamented, that, however good this artift's abilities might be, his conduct was highly irregular; for he left London for Dublin in company with Mrs. Grefle, with whom he had the folly to engage in an intrigue, for which he was profecuted and caft in the Court of King's Bench. In Ireland he was well received, and met with encourage- ment; but, having introduced his miftrefs as his wife, the impofture was foon difcovered, and he was obliged to return to England. "While in Dublin he painted an interior View of the Irim Houfe of Commons, in which he introduced the portraits of feveral Anecdotes of Tainting* 269 feveral of the members; and the picture had confiderable merit. At his return to London he painted a picture of the Riots in 1780, from which Mr. Heath engraved a very excellent print for Boydell *. Soon after which, Mr. Wheatley married a fecond wife, Mils Clara Lee, youngeft daughter of the deceafed Mr. Lee, who had been a Proctor in the Commons, and who con- fidered himfelf as an artift, having painted and exhibited feveral pictures. Wheatley 's chief excellence was in rural fubjects with figures, which, when they reprefented females, generally bore a mere- tricious and theatrical air, as is very diflinguimable in a fet of prints reprefenting the Cries of London, in which the women are dreffed with great fmartnefs, but little propriety, better fuited to the fantaftic tafte of an Italian opera ftage than to the ftreets of London. He alfo painted landfcape with great tafte; and made many drawings in water-colours, which are * This pi&ure was burnt in the houfe of Mr. Heath, who then refided in Lifle-ftreet, Leicefter-fquare, it being too large to be moved. Mr. Boydell gave j£.200 for the ufe of it. To thofe who collecl; prints, particularly portraits, it may be fatisfaclory to know, that the figure which in the prints is reprefented as giving orders, was painted from Sir Bernard Turner; that which is receiving them, is intended for Henry Smith, Efq. at this time one of the Bank Directors, and Major Com- mandant of the Camberwell Volunteers; and the figure, reprefented as afliihng the wounded perfon, was painted from Sir William Blizard, furgeon, who then ferved in the corps, and is at this time Lieutenant-Colonel of the Bithopfgate Volunteers. But it muft be acknowledged that the two laft-mentioned portraits are not fuch good likenefies as the firft. very 270 Anecdotes of Painting. very pleafing in their manner, but fomething beyond " the modefty of nature." Mrs. Wheatley, his fecond wife, by the inftruclions of her hufband, acquired fufficient power in art to teach drawing, and alfo to paint miniature, by which means me greatly affifted in the fupport of her family; for, youthful irregularity and in- temperance had entirely ruined the conftitution of her hufband, fo that for many years he was at intervals unable to employ his pencil, being much afflicted by long and fevere paroxyfms of the gout. Mr. Wheatley was elected Aflbciate of the Royal Academy, November 1790, and Royal Academician, February the 10th, 1791. He died June 28th, 1801, aged fifty-four, leaving a widow and four children. There is an etching of his hand, but very flight, reprefenting Gypfies cooking their Kettle, dated 17 85. Size of the plate ten inches by feven inches five-eighths. JOHN DONALDSON. Born in Edinburgh ; was a miniature-painter both in enamel and water-colours. In the obituary lift of the Gentleman's Magazine for No- vember 1801, is along account of this artift, which appears to have been written by fome perfon who was well acquainted with him. In that account he is reprefented as a capricious and Anecdotes of Tainting. 271 and unfteady man, who, wanting prudence to purfue his in- tereft, rejected his profeflion, and fuftered all the inconve- niencies that follow fuch a conduct. As he neglected the ftu- dies that were neceffary to the improvement of his art, fo he feems to have defpifed thofe who acted with more prudence in the cultivation of their talents, as fufficiently appears from the following paffage, taken from the forementioned account: " It was at this fatal period that the metaphyfical and reform- " ing fpirit of his father began to take poffefiion of him. It " was now he thought fo lightly of his profeflion, that I have " heard him repeatedly mention, that Sir Joihua Reynolds " muft be a very dull fellow to devote his life to the ftudv of " lines and tints." From fuch a declaration it might be fufpected, that there was fomething of infanity in the man, or of envy in the artift, that ftimulated him to pafs fo unfounded a cenfure upon the purfuits of Sir Joihua. But we mould charitably reflect, that difappointment often finds confolation in the cenfure of thofe who have attained fuperior excellence and fame. In the year 1765, and again in the year 1768, he obtained the fir ft premiums given by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. to the perfon who produced the belt enamel picture. He died in October 1801, in the fixty-fourth year of his age. He fometimes employed his pen ; and the author of the account in the Magazine fays, that he publifhed the following works : An Efl'ay on the Elements of Beauty, and a fmall volume 272 Anecdotes of Painting. volume of Poems. To thefe may be added, an octavo pamphlet of Critical Obfervations and Remarks upon the Public Buildings of London : the laft was anonymous. WILLIAM HAMILTON, r. a. "Was the fon of a perfon who was a native of Scotland, and connected with Meffrs. Adams, the celebrated architects, on which account he refided for feveral years at Chelfea as deputy to Mr. Robert Adams, when clerk of the works to that Col- lege. William Hamilton was fent to Italy by the patronage of Mr. Adams, where he was fome time under the tuition of Zucchi ; but this tour was made when he was too young to receive any material benefit from it. When he returned to England he became a pupil in the Royal Academy, and, by attention to his ftudies, acquired a pleafant manner of painting, much in the ftyle of his mafter. He praclifed in many different ways, moftly hiftory, and frequently arabefque, of which latter kind he executed fome decorations at the feat of the late Earl of Bute at High Cliff, Hampfhire. He fometimes painted portraits ; but his manner was not well adapted to that branch of painting : yet he painted a whole-length of Mrs. Siddons, in the character of Lady Ran- dolph, with her Son, which had confiderable merit. It was bought by the late Samuel Whitbread, £fq. One Anecdotes of Painting. 273 One of his mod capital works was a picture of " the Queen of Sheba entertained at a Banquet by Solomon*", a defign for a window in the great room at Arundel Caftle. This was painted for the Duke of Norfolk |, and was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1790. He was much employed by the late Alderman Boydell, for whom he painted many fubjects for his edition of Shakfpeare ; and he executed feveral pictures for Mr. Macklin's Bible, and likewife for his Poets. He had alfo a commirlion from the late Sir Charles Hotham for a fuitc of pictures ; the fubjects of which were taken from Virgil's Paftorals. They were intended as decorations for a large room at Sir Charles's feat in Yorkfhire, but the death of the Baronet prevented the completion of the work. He likewife gave feveral defigns for the decorations of books; but his principal work in this way was an elegant edition of Thomfon's Seafons, the plates of which were engraved by Mr. Tomkins of Bond-flreet, and publiflied in large quarto in 1793 and 1798. His manner of painting was formed upon the guflo of the modern Italian fchool, light, airy, and pleafant, but with no very profound principles of art. His compofitions are rather * From this pi&ure there is a large print, which was engraved by Mr. Cald- well. f The portrait of his Grace is the reprefentation of Solomon. The window was executed by Mr. Eginton. — Mr. Francis Eginton, glafs-painter, of Handf- worth, Shroplhire, died in the fummer of 1805. Nn too 274 Anecdotes of Painting. too theatrical to be deemed natural or judicious. He was of very refpectable manners and character. His death was occafioned by a violent fever, which in little more than three days terminated his exiftence. He died at his houfe in Dean-ftreet, Soho, where he had re- fided for feveral years. He was ele6ted Aflbciate of the Royal Academy, November the 8th, 1784, and Royal Academician, February the 10th, 1789- In the church of St. Ann's, Soho, in the north aifle, is a fmall mural tablet of white marble, upon which is the following inscription : " Sacred to the memory " of William Hamilton, esq. r. a. " eminently diftinguilhed " by his talents as " an Artift, " and by his virtues as " a Man. " He departed this life 2d December 1801,. " aged fifty-one, " and is interred oppofite this flone, " in the middle aide. " Alfo to his fon " William, " who fell a victim to a rapid decline "at the age " of Anecdotes of Painting. 27.*; " of thirteen years and a half, " which he fupported with a patience " and fweetnefs of difpofition " almoft unequalled, " and is interred in the " churchyard." P. JEAN, Was a native of Jerfey, who was brought up in the navy, but during- the peace which fucceeded the American war, he ap- plied himfelf to the ftudy of miniature-painting, in which he acquired much fkill. He alfo painted in oil colours, in which procefs he executed a large whole-length of his Majefty, part of which was painted from the life, and was intended for fome public office in Jerfey ; but this work had little original merit. It was principally made up from Sir Jofhua Reynolds's picture in the Council Room of the Royal Academy. He died at the houfe of ■ Hodges, Efq. at Hempflead in Kent, after a mort illnefs, the latter end of September 1802, aged forty-feven. Nn 2 276 Anecdotes of Painting. GEORGE ROMNEY. * In the monthly Magazine of January 1803, there is an account of Mr. Romney, under the head of Obituary Anec- dotes, in which it is afferted, that he was the fon of a carpenter at Furnefs in Lancashire, and the eldeft of fix fous. In that account we are told, that from his earlieft years he dis- covered ftrong abilities, and attachment to painting ; and his productions having obtained the notice and approbation of a neighbouring gentleman, he was put under the tuition of an itinerant painter, who was then at Kendal in Weftmoreland, with whom he (laid two years, part of which time was fpent at York, during which he had made fuch progrefs, that his father, as faid in that account, bought out the remainder of his time, which was incomplete by a year. Soon after this Mr. Romney came to London, and lived in Craig's-court, Charing Crofs, where, in 1763, he painted a picture of the Death of General Wolfe, which he offered for the premium, and obtained the fecond. This preference roufed the artifts, who confidered the work of Mr. Mortimer, who was alfo a candidate, as far more defei v- ing, and the vote was fet afide by the general meeting of the Society ; which circumftance fixed alafting impreffion of difguft * The account in the Magazine was drawn up by Mr. Walker, the reader of philofophical lectures, who was the countryman and friend of Romney. upon Anecdotes of Painting. 277 upon the mind of Romney againft Sir Jofhua Reynolds, who had interested himfelf much upon the occasion. It muft be confeffed that Mr. Mortimer's production was much fuperior as an hiitorical picture, for Romney's was a coat and waistcoat fubject, with no more accuracy of reprefentation than M'hat might be acquired by reading in the Gazette an account of the death of any General. Such productions mould never be claffed among the efforts of hiiloric painting ; yet the Society, wiming to encourage every claimant who ex- hibited any promife of abilities, gave Romney a bounty of twenty pounds. In 1 765, the Society again offered a premium for historic painting, and Mr. Romney obtained the fecond premium, fifty guineas ; but the fubject of his picture cannot be recollected. He continued his ftudies as a portrait-painter with consider- able fuccefs, and painted feveral portraits in oil that were in- ferior to none, except Sir Joihua's, among which was a Head of Lady Greville. He alfo painted a large family picture of Mr. Leigh, proctor, which was much noticed. Soon after this he went to Rome, in company with Mr. Humphry, the miniature- painter, and alfo vifited most of the other cities of Italy. He returned to London in 1775, and fettled in Cavendifh-fquare,. in the houfe that had been the refidence of Mr. Francis Cotes, where he foon became famous, and acquired more practice, than any other portrait-painter of his time. He received much patronage from Mr. Cumberland ; and Mr. Hayley rendered him considerable fervice by dedicating a fmall 278 Anecdotes of Painting. fmall poem to him, entitled, a Poetical Epistle to an eminent Painter. After his return from the Continent he never exhibited, con- fequently could not folicit the honours of the Royal Academy, but, on the contrary, rather fhunned any intimacy with his cotemporary artifts, and yet faftidioufly complained of their neglect, which was in truth the effect of his own peculiarity of temper and manners, as was indeed acknowledged by his moft partial friends. As a portrait-painter he had great merit, but his heads are marked with too much of that manner which is diitinguimed among artifts by the term fquarenefs, a circumftance which always tends to injure the likenefs, though it may produce cha- racter and fpirit. It is on this account that his portraits of ladies, although agreeable, often want that female delicacy which ihould characterize thefex. He made fome attempts in hiftoric painting, but his compo- fitions in that line of art are conducted too much upon thofe eccentric principles which have lately been difplayed in paint- ing as well as in poetry. This peculiarity is eafily diftinguim- able in the pictures which he painted for Bo}'deH's Shakfpeare Gallery, which have fo little folidity of expreflion, that it is difficult to difcover what fcenes they are intended to repre- fent. After an uninterrupted career of employment for more than twenty years, he retired in the latter part of the year 1798 to a houfe which he had fitted up at Hampftead, where he dif- 1 played Etched. i-wX.Girthf. History Lanuscapes. Bom at Anaily.l5y4 Diedl065. Anecdotes of Painting. 279 played a whimfical fancy in the conftruclion and decoration of his manfion, that did not by any means demonftrate the purity of his tafte, or the folidity of his judgment, in the fcience of architecture. Soon after his retirement he found his health decline, when he difpofed of his houfe, together with fome calls from very fine antiques which he had collected, and re- turned to his native county, where he died in November 1802. Mrs. WRIGHT, Was the daughter of Mi\ Guise, b. m. one of the gentlemen of his Majcfty's Chapel Royal, St. James's, and matter of the chorifters at Weftminfter. She pra6tifed in miniature with good fuccefs, but was unfortunate in her firft matrimonial connection with a French emigrant, who flaid not long with her, but returned to France, and died in a few years. She then marrried Mr. Wright, a miniature-painter, but did not long furvive her fecond nuptials, as me died in childbed the latter part of the year 1802. THOMAS GIRTIN, Was the fcholar of Mr. Dayes. He drew landfcape in a loofe, free manner, with more of effect than truth. He exhibited a Panorama View of London at the Great Room in Spring- gardens. 280 Anecdotes of Painting. gardens. It was painted by himfelf, but was not much noticed by the public, nor did he live to fee its exhibition clofe. There is a very good fet of prints, the outlines of which were etched by himfelf, and afterwards finifhed in * aqua tinta by other artifts, from drawings which he made, of Views of Paris, taken upon the fpot after the conclufion of the peace of Amiens. The prints Mere finiihed and published about three weeks after his death. Thefe are twenty in number, dedicated to Lord EfTex, who purchased the original drawings. Girtin died at his lodgings in the Strand, November the 9th, 1804, and was buried in Covent-garden churchyard, at the early age of twenty-feven years : but intemperance and irre-' gularity have no claim to longevity. THOMAS FRENCH. A fcene-painter, who refided chiefly at Bath, and painted for the Theatre of that place. He was an artift of no great powers. He died at Bath in September 1803. * The aqua tinta parts of thefe plates were by different artifts who pradufed in that line of art, and their names are as follow : Lewis, Petite, Harradine, &c. Anecdotes of Painting. 281 LEMUEL ABBOT. The fon of a clergyman in Leicefterfhire. For a fhort time he was under the tuition of Mr. Hayman, but the mafter dying in lefs than a year after he received his pupil, Mr. Abbot re- turned to the country, where he purfued the ftudy of portrait- painting with futncient fuccefs to produce a good likenefs. He then came to London, and, with the affiftance of a gen- tleman who patronized him, acquired much employment as a portrait-painter. In the early part of his career he lived in Great RufTel-ftreet, Bloomfbury, whence he removed to Caroline-flreer, and after- wards to Pall Mall ; but not finding himfelf comfortably fituated in the laft place, he returned to his former manfion in Caroline-ftreet, Bloomfbury. His abilities as a painter were wholly confined to portraiture, or rather to painting a head, for below that part he wanted both tafte and fkill fufficient to enable him to produce a good whole- length picture, and his figures were in general infipid in their action, and his back-grounds poor and taflelefs in execution. • Yet it muft be allowed, that the heads of his male portraits were perfect in their likeneffes, particularly thofe which he painted from the naval heroes of the prefent time ; but he had not equal fuccefs with female heads, of which indeed he painted but few. In the conduct of his profeffion he was rather penurious, which prevented him from employing an affiftant. This ill— O o judged S82 Anecdotes of Painting. judged parfimony rendered it impoffible for him to finifh his pictures in any decent time, and he found himfelf overwhelmed with engagements which he could not complete. The anxiety which followed fuch miftaken frugality, added to the domeftic difquiet which he experienced by his marriage with a woman of very abfurd conduct, preyed upon his mind, and brought on infanity, which at length terminated in his death in the early part of the year 1*03. His perfon was favour- able to his purfuits in life, and when he died he was little more than forty years of age. It mould be obferved, that he afiumed the name of Francis in addition to his other names, therefore many of the prints from his pictures are marked *L. F. Abbot; but it is not known why he chofe this addition, which was not given to him at the font. TASSART. A native of Antwerp, and the fcholar of Vanhaken, the drapery-painter. He came to England when very young, and was fome time with Mr. Hudfon, probably as an afliftant. As an artift, this gentleman cannot be ranked as an original, his works being moftly pajiicios, frequently copies. He was alfo a piclure-dealer and cleaner, which laft profethon, if not • In the Catalogues of the Royal Academy Exhibitions, his name is alfo dif- tinguilhed by the additional F. an Anecdotes of Painting. £83 an art, is at leall; an artifice, by which more money is frequently obtained for fcouring a picture, than the original mailer was able to obtain as the firfl price for its defign. He died at his lodgings in old Soho, October the 6th, 1803. JOHN PLOTT. A native of Winchefter. In the early part of life he was engaged with an attorney, and afterwards employed as a clerk for the management of the accounts belonging to the mainte- nance of the French prifoners, who were confined in that neighbourhood during the war of 1756. Thefe employments not being fuited to his inclinations, and having a tafte for painting, he for a ihort time placed himfelf under the inftru6tions of Mr. R. Wilfon, the landfcape-painter; but the terms of the latter being thought too high, Mr. N. Hone was chofen as a mafter more congenial to the talents of Mr. Plott, who became his pupil, and afterwards his afliftant, as a miniature-painter, both in enamel and water colours. After he quitted Mr. Hone he continued to praclife miniature- painting both in London and at Winchefter, of which city he was chofen a member of the Corporation fome years before his death. He had a tafte for natural hiftory, and executed fome drawings in that way, which had great merit. He began a work which it is much to be regretted, that he did not finim — a Natural Hiftory of Land Snails, the reprefentations of which O o 2 were 284 Anecdotes of Painting. were painted in water colours with great beauty and accuracy. He alfo painted a few portraits in oil. He died at the refidence of his fifter, at Soke, Winchester, October 27th, 1803, aged 71. Mr.' Bromley, in his Catalogue, mentions a portrait of this artift, as fcraped by himfelf ; but the author never faw it, though intimately acquainted with Mr, Plott. T. DE BRUYN. A foreigner, but whether a native of France or Switzerland, is not known to the author. He painted in a variety of wa)'s chiefly landfcape with figures and cattle ; but was principally eminent for painting, in chiqro ofcuro, the imitations of baffb relievos, in which he produced the erfecl; of prominence with great fuccefs, fo that many of his works were excellent decep- tions. Of this kind of decorations he painted feveral for the chapel of Greenwich Hofpital. He lived many years in Caftle-ftreet, Oxford-market, where he died of a paralytic ftroke in the early part of the year 1804. He left a fon, who for fome time pra&ifed the art, and was a ftudent in the Royal Academy, but has lately become a land- furveyor. Anecdotes of Painting. 285 EDWARD DAYES. The fcholar of William Pether. In the early part of his life he painted miniature, and alfo fcraped mezzotinto, but after- wards practifed the drawing of landfcapes. He was often em- ployed for topographical works, and his nante is frequently found affixed to the plates that illuftrate feveral modern publi- cations in that clafs of literature. He alfo taught drawing ; and in the catalogue of the Exhibition he is ftyled (at his own re- queft) Defigner to his Royal Highnefs the Duke of York. His temper was neither amiable nor happy : it was probably owing to this caufe that his diffolution was accelerated by his own hand. This melancholy event took place during the laft week of May 1804, at his houfe in Francis-ftreet, Bedford- fquare, where he had refided for feveral years. At the time of his death there was in the Exhibition of the Royal Academy a picture painted by him in oil ; the fubject, a View of Shrewsbury, which had much merit: In the fpring of the year after his death a quarto volume was published, with the following title : " The Works of the late Edward Dayes, containing an Ex- " curfion through the principal parts of Derbyfliire and York- " mire : by E. W. Brayley : together with profeffional Sketches " of modern Artifts." This work is decorated with the artift's portrait, and ten Views are engraved by different artifts, from drawings which Mr. Dayes had made in his tour. The profeffional fketches, as they 286 Anecdotes of Painting. they are called, are anecdotes both of living and deceafed artifts ; but they are by no means accurate. FRANCIS PARSONS. A painter of portraits, but of no great powers. In the Exhibi- tion of 1763, at the Spring Garden Rooms, were two pictures of his hand, a portrait of one of the Indian Chiefs * who were then in England — the other was drawn from Mifs Davis j", at that time a celebrated finger. She was reprefented in the cha- racter of Madge, in Love in a Village. But thefe pictures, par- ticularly the Chief, were as hard and unpleafant in the execu- tion as the Indian himfelf was in his phyfiognomy. This artift for lbme time ftudied in the Academy in St. Mar- tinVlane, but with no great fuccefs, and he became a picture- dealer and cleaner — a good refource for the. invalids in paint- ing. He lived and kept a ihop for fome years in Albemarle-ftreet, afterwards removed into Piccadill}', where he died fome time in the year 1804. * Thcfe Chiefs were brought here in the year 1762. There is a mezzotinto print from the picture here defcribed, which was engraved by Mac Ardel : under it is the following infcription : Cunne Shote — The Indian Chief, a great warrior of the Cherokee nation. Sold at the Golden Head, Queen's-fquare, Ormond-ftreet. — No date. \ She afterwards became the wife of Mr. Batifliill, the celebrated organift and compofer. Anecdotes of Painting. 287 DANIEL BOND, Obtained the fecund premium of twenty-five guineas, given by the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, for the beft painting of a landfcape, in the year 1764, and in the following year the firft premium, fifty guineas. He was but little known or fpoken of in London, though in the years 1 762 and 176S he exhibited fome landfcapes at the Society's room in the Strand. His chief refidence was at Bir- mingham, where he conducted the decorative department of a manufactory. It is not exactly known to the author when he died, but his pictures, &c. were fold by auction in London in the latter part of the year 1804, a few months after his death. HENRY SPICER. A miniature-painter, who wrought both in water-colours and enamel. Although the author was acquainted with this artift, yet he knows not who Mas his mafter, a circumftance which fhould otherwife be preferved, as Mr. Spicer attained to great excel- lence and reputation as an enamel-painter, though he never arrived to that delicacy of execution which diftinguilhes the works of Mr. Bone, whofe enamel pictures furpafs every thing that has hitherto appeared in that branch of painting. Mr. 288 Anecdotes of Painting. Mr. Spicer, who ftyled himfelf Enamel-painter to the Prince of Wales, died in June 1 804, about fixty years of age. CHARLES GRIGNION, The younger fon of the watchmaker whofe abilities in his profeflion made his name defer vedly famous in the middle of the laft century. The fon was the pupil of Mr. Cipriani, and was alfo admitted one of the early ftudents of the Royal Academy. In the year 1776 he obtained the gold medal for the belt hiftorical picture, and in the year 1782 lie went to Rome upon the penfion of that eftablifhment. He Temained there in purfuit of his ftudies until the French invaders entered that city, by which circumftance he was compelled to retreat to Leghorn, where, in common with many others, he was attacked by that fatal fever which infected the north-weft ihores of the Mediterranean, and he died in October 1804. ■ Among his other avocations in Italy, he acted as a dealer, and at the time the French were plundering the palaces of Rome, he fent feveral pictures to England, among which was that celebrated landfcape long diftinguiihed by the appellation of the Altieri Claude, together with it's companion, both of which were purchafed by Mr. Beckford, and are now in his pofleflion at his feat at Font Hill. There Anecdotes of Painting. There are two prints that were engraved after original defigns made by this art i ft at Rome. The firft reprefents the fatal effects of a quarrel between two men at the Porta del Populo, in which one is reprefented as expiring on the ground, while the other, who has itabbed him, is coolly walking away. The fecond exhibits a group of men and women dancing the Saltarela. The original drawings are in the poiTeilion of Lord Clive, who, when at Rome, bought them of the artift. HENRY ROBERT MORLAXD, "Was the pupil of his father*, a painter, who lived on the lower fide of St. James's-fquare. The fon, Henry, painted portraits, both in oil and crayons ; he alfo fcraped in mezzotinto, and was much employed as a picture-cleaner. He was amoug the firft exhibitors in the year 1760, when the fubjecl of his picture was a Boy's Head in crayons, one of the belt of his productions. He alfo dealt in pictures ; but was either unfuccefsful in his fpeculations, or deficient in economy : and during the time that herefided in Leicefter-fquare he became a bankrupt. The fubjecls of his pencil were rather of a trifling nature, * This perfou is probably the lame who is mentioned in John Houghton's Lift of Painters. P p as 290 Anecdotes of Tainting. as Servant Girls waffling or ironing linen, a Lady reading by a paper fhade, and fuch reprefentations as require more excel- lence in their execution, to give them any value, than he was capable of producing, for in general his works were in a heavy manner, and inferior gufto. He was rather an unfettled man, frequently changing his refidence ; but in the latter part of his life he refided in Stephen- ftreet, Rathbone-place, where he died in December 1797, about feventy-three years of age. x Of the children which he left, his eldeft fon, George, was a remarkable example of abilities in art, and at the fame time of depravity in manners and morals. As an aitift, he received his fir ft inftructions from his father, but very foon furpaffed his mafler. His early productions were landscapes, and he painted one or two fmall convcrfation pieces ; but his favourite Sub- jects were animals, chiefly of the domeflic kind — horfes, dogs, pigs, and other cattle, which he painted in a very mafterly manner. At the Exhibition of the Royal Academy in 1791, he had a picture reprefenting the Infide of a Stable with Horfes, rather larger than a half-length canvafs, which was an excellent per- formance. His low and vulgar propenfities led him into the ,fociety of thofe who were little calculated to improve either his mind or manners, and he readily ftooped to an intimacy with coach- men, poftchaife drivers, and (table boys, indeed with any affo- ciates with whom he could gratify the defpicable ambition of being at the head of his company. By Anecdotes of Fainting. 291 By his licentious and imprudent conduct he became involved in debt, and was confined in the King's-bench prifon, whence he was liberated by the Act of Grace in 1801. During his confinement he was conftantly employed by pic- ture-dealers, frame-makers, and others, who, from the profits they obtained for his works, found it their intereft to court his caprice and fupply his wants. By the conftant and exceffive ufe of fpirituous liquors, his health and talents were equally deftroyed, before age could have aflecled either his phyfical or mental powers ; fo that the pictures he painted a fliort time before his death were fo much inferior to his former productions, that from their execution they can fcarcely be fuppofed the works of Morland. This decay of powers was fufficiently confpicuous in two pictures, which he exhibited at the Royal Academy a few months before his death, which happened on the twenty-ninth of October 1804, in the fortieth year of his age. He left a widow, who furvived him about a fortnight, but no children. There is an etching by George Morland — A Fox with a Pullet under his paw. It is executed with great fpirit. There is a mezzotinto portrait of this artift from a picture painted by Muller. p p 2 2,92 Anecdotes of Painting. GABRIEL MATHIAS*. This gentleman for fome years praetifed as a painter, and, as he himfelf humoroufly obferved, was at Rome upon his ftudies " long enough to have painted like Raphael ;" but his talents did not qualify him to attain fo elevated a rank in art. In the Exhibition of the year 1761, at the Society's room in the Strand, there were pictures by him ; one in particular, of a Sailor f fplicing a Rope, from which there is a mezzotinto print by Mac Ardel. He continued to exhibit for about two years after, M'hen he ceafed to pra&ife the art, and confined his attention to the duties of his fituation, as he pofferTed a refpectable appointment in the Office of Privy Purfe. While the R,oyal Academy, in the early period of the inftitu- tion, received pecuniary affiftance from his Majefty's liberality, Mr. Mathias was, by his official fituation, employed in tranfaCting that bufinefs; and before the paffing of Mr. Burke's celebrated Bill of Reform, he poffeffed the appointment of Deputy Pay- master to the Board of Works. He chiefly refided at A6ton, where he died, the latter part of the year 1 804, at a very advanced age. * His elder brother, Mr. Vincent Mathias, was a gentleman well known and highly refpefted, who had the honour of placing his name among the fignatures of thofe noblemen and gentlemen who directed the proclamation of his prefent Majefty's accefiion to the throne. t This print is noticed in Bromley's Catalogue as being the portrait of Andrew Wilkiufon, a Captain in the navy. Anecdotes of Painting. 293 DANIEL GARDNER, A native of Kendal in Weftmorland. He was a ftudent in the Royal Academy ; but it is not known that he ever received any infiruclions in painting, other than what he obtained by vifiting Sir Jofhua Reynolds, of whom he might be confidered as an out-door pupil. He painted fmall portraits, both in oil and crayons, and had fo much fafhion and employment as to acquire a fufficient for- tune to live genteelly after his famionable eftimation was patted. He lived feveral years in New Bond-flreet ; but upon the de- cline of his bufmefs he returned to lodgings in Beak-ftreet, Golden-fquare, and gave up the purfuit of every art except that of improving his fortune, in which he is faid to have been an adept, not without a degree of penury, which injured his health. He died in the fummer of 1805, aged fifty-five. There are feveral mezzotinto prints after portraits of his painting. There is alfo an etching of his performance, which is the portrait of Philip Egerton, Efq. of Oulton ; fize of the plate ten inches and a half by eight inches. He was a widower at his death ; but left a fon, who was forae time at Cambridge, and is in the law department. 294 Anecdotes of Painting. WALMSLEY, A native of Ireland, was a landfcape-painter ; but his chief emplojnnent was in painting fcenes, in which line of art he was was much eno-aged at the theatres in London. There are feveral prints which were engraved after land- fcapes which he painted. He died at Bath fome time in Auo-uft 1805. '& F. VIERIA, - By birth a Portuguefe ; who for fome time fludied as a pain- ter in Italy, and from thence came to England about the year 1797. He chiefly painted hiftory, and was feveral times an exhi- bitor with the Royal Academy, particularly in 1796 and 1799. The fubject of the piclure he lafl exhibited was " Viriato, Chief of the Lufitanians, exhorting his Companions to take Vengeance of the Perfidy of Galba." During his ftay in England, he refided chiefly with Mr. Bartolozzi, at North-end, Hammerfmith, where he married, and foon after returned to Lifbon ; but did not long furvive, as he died in the early part of the year 1805. There are fome prints after defigns which were made by him. - They are engraved in the dotting manner, and they received much improvement from the affiftance of Mr. Bar- tolozzi. Anecdotes of Fainting. 295 JOHN RUSSELL, R. A. Was born at Guildford in Surrey. He was placed as a pupil under the inftruclion of Mr. Francis Cotes, and he alfo for fome time attended the private Academy in St. Martin's-lane. He followed his mafter's manner, praclifing both in oil colours and crayons, but chiefly in the latter, in which procefs he produced many very good portraits, though the colouring was frequently forced, and rather ihowy than natural ; nor can it be faid that he ever equalled fome of the productions of his mailer. In 1776 he published a quarto pamphlet, entitled " Elements of Painting with Crayons ;" a fecond edition of which appeared in the next year. This little work is truly valuable, as it not only contains the beft inftruelions for theprocefs of painting in Crayons, but alfo gives the beft receipts for their preparation. He was fond of aftronomical ftudies, and conftru<5ted a model of the appearance of the moon, for which he obtained a patent in 1797, and with his own hand engraved the print that re- prefents the face of the planet, and which conftitutes a part of the apparatus. The work itfelf will be beft explained by the author's own words, which are here given as extracted from a quarto pamphlet which he publiflied at the time when the patent was obtained, and which bear the following title : " A Defcription of the Sele- nographia, an Apparatus for exhibiting the Phenomena of the 296 Anecdotes of Tainting. the Moon, together with an Account of fome of the Purpofee which it may be applied to." " The Selenographia confifts of a Globe, on which are ex- " preffed the fpots which appear on the moon's vifible furface, " accurately taken by 7 a micrometer from the moon itfelf, and " transferred to a Globe. The papers which cover this globe " are carefully engraved from the original drawings, made by a " long feries of very minute obfervations." The pamphlet is illuftrated by r two engraved prints, the firft reprefenting the back and profile of the apparatus, and the fecond the map " containing the names and arrangement of the "principal fpots of the moon's furface." At intervals, he vifited fome of the diftant towns, as Shrewfbury and Hull, where he pradtifed his profeffion, and at the latter of which places he died. Hehad long complained of fymptoms which indicated a ftone in the bladder ; thefe entirely fubfided during his laft illnefs, which was a typhous fever ; and after his death it Avas found that his former fufferings were occafioned by gravel in the kidneys. He was chofen an Affociate of the Royal Academy in 1773, and Royal Academician in 17S8. He died April 21, 1806, in the fixty-fecond year of his age, and left a family, of which one of the l'ons pra&ifes in the manner of his father. Anecdotes of Painting. 297 JAMES BARRY. This gentleman, by the peculiarity of his conduct, and the confidence of his behaviour, acquired, during his lifetime, a cele- brity in his profeflion, which compels the biographer to pay greater attention to his hiftory, than would perhaps be due to the memories of many fuperior artifts and more amiable men. He was born in Cork. His father was a vi6tualler in that city. It is not known to what profeflion he was originally defigned, but it is univerfally agreed that he acquired his art by his own exertions*, unafTifled by any infrructor, and that he began his profeflion as a landfcape painter. In the early part of his life, he acquired the acquaintance and friendfliip of Edmund Burke, Efq. with whom he came to England, and by whom he was introduced to Mr. Barrett, his countryman, who pracYifed in the fame line of art with himfelf. Under the protection and with the affiftance of Mr. Burke, he vifited Italy, whither he went in the autumn of 1766. This pa- tronage and protection he very properly and handfomely acknow- ledges in his fecond publication j\ * After the nioft diligent inquiry, it has not been p&flible to obtain a more certain account of the early life of this gentleman than is here given. But it may be -added, that for fome time he ftudied in the Academy of Dublin, which was then conduced by a gentleman of the name of Weft, who had ftudied at Paris under the infractions of Boucher and Vanloo, and was much praifed, for his knowledge of the human figure, by the ftudents in art who came from Dublin to London. He was living in 17(^0 : but of this artift the Author has not been able to procure any further information. f See his Account of a Series of Pictures, &c. page 76. Q q He 298 Anecdotes of Painting. He returned to London in the latter part of the year 1770, or beginning of 1771, for in that year he exhibited in the Royal Academy for the firft time; the fubject of his picture, Adam and Eve, the figures fomewhat below the fize of life. The next year he produced a whole length of Venus rifingfrom the Sea. In 1 7 7G he exhibited a picture of the death of General Wolfe, in which, probably with a view of demonftrating his knowledge of the human form, he chofc to paint the figures as nudities, acircumftance ill adapted to the nature of the piclure; and he found his work fo unfavourably received by the public, that lie was much difgufted, and never afterwards fent any per- formance to the exhibition. It was not only by the productions of his pencil that Mr. Barry endeavoured to exhibit himfclf as a man of talents, but he alio employed his pen to a fimilar purpofe ; and in 1 775 published "An Inquiry into the real and imaginary Obftruc- tions to the Acquifition of the Arts in England," &c. This work was in reply to a publication which the Abbe Wiackelman had written while Mr. Barry was at Rome; and it muft be allowed that he has very fuccefsfully expofed the pretended philofophy, and partial criticifm of the Abbe, who endeavoured to prove that the Englifh are incapable of attaining any great excellence in art, both from their natural deficiency in genius, as alio from the unfavourable temperature of their native climate. In 1773, feveral of the principal artifts, members of the Royal Academy, wifhing to promote the advancement of the arts 4 upon Anecdotes of Painting. £99 upon a higher fcale than had been, till that time, attempted in England, offered to paint afet of pictures for the decoration of St. Paul's Cathedral ; and the perfons {elected by the Academy were Angelica Kauffman, Barry, Cipriani, X. Dance, Reynolds, and Weft*. But this liberal offer did not meet the approbation of Dr. Terrick, at that time Biihop of London, and therefore the fcheme was abortive. A ihort time after (1774), the Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce made a propofal to the artifts, that a certain number of them mould paint a mite of pictures for the decoration of their new room, which they had erected in John-ftreet, Adelphi; and it was propofedthat when the pictures were finiihed, a public exhibition mould be made, the profits of which were to be ap- plied to the remuneration ofthofe who mould paint the pictures. But this fcheme was not approved by the artifts, and they de- clined the propofal f J. * Sir. Barry infinuates in his fecond publication, that the firft hint of this fcheme originated with himfelf. See the Appendix to his Account of a Series of Pictures, &e. page 207. t The artifts felected by the Society for the purpofe of painting fuch pictures were as follows : History : — Signora Angelica Kauffman, Sir Jofliua Reynolds, Sir. Well, Mr. Cipriani, Mr. N. Dance, Mr. Mortimer, Mr. Barry, Mr. T. Wright Allegorical: — Mr. Romney, Mr. Penny. I About this period Mr. Barry, by public advertifement in fome of the dailv papers, offered to give inftruclions in the art of defign to any nobleman or gentleman who might require fuch affiftance; but whether he obtained anv pupils is unknown to the Author. Qq 2 The 300 Anecdotes of Pabiti?ig. The rejection of this fcheme by the gentlemen to whom it was offered, appears to have been a difappointment to Mr. Barry, who hoped to diftinguiflihimfelf by his exertions, and, as lie obferves, " to get fome friends, which he ftood in great need of;" and therefore, about three years after, he, through the means of Mr. Valentine Green, made an offer to the Society, that lie would himfelf undertake to decorate their room, upon a more comprehenfive plan than that which they had propofed them- felves ; and, the Society accepting his propofal, the following letter was delivered to the Committee bv Mr. Green : " Sir, " The propofal for decorating the Great Room of the Society " of Arts, &c. with paintings analogous to the views of " that inftitution, and declared to that Society, on Wednefday " the 5th of March, by Mr. Yal. Green, member of the fame, " on condition the faid Society provided the artiftwith canvafs, " colours, and models proper to carry it into execution ; the " faid propofal was made to the Society as above, by the defire " and confent of " James Barry." " Suffolk-flreet, Haymarket, . March 6, 177?." " To the Chairman of the Committee of Polite Arts." The Anecdotes of Painting. 30 ¥ The terms being mutually fettled, as before fpecified, Mr. Barry commenced the work, agreeably to the conditions, and, unaflifted by any one, he with his own hand in about three years finilhed the whole nearly as it now ftands, and at the conclufiou the following advertifment was inferted in moft of the newf- papers : " Adelphi, April 26, 1788." " At an extraordinary Meeting of the Society of Arts, " Manufactures, and Commerce, it was propofed to view the " hiftorical paintings in the Great Room, executed by James " Barry, Efq. R. A. and Profeffor of Painting in the Roval " Academy, and, after attentive infpeclion, Refolved, that the " feries of pictures, illuftrating in their defign the progrefs of " human knowledge, and the advancement of ufeful and " elegant arts, from a very early period to the prefent, is a work " of great execution and clallical information, and muft be " deemed a national ornament, as well as a monument of the " talents and ingenuity of the artift. " The Society, therefore, defirous of giving the moft ample " teftimony of his eminent abilities, unanimoully voted him. u their thanks, and ordered that this refolution be publilhed in " the newspapers. " Samuel More, Sec.*' They then permitted the work to be publicly exhibited for the- benefit of Mr. Barry ; and upon this occafion he publilhed an account 302 Anecdotes of Painting. account of the pictures, in an octavo pamphlet, which was fold in the room*. During this exhibition, he publiflied propofals for engraving a fet of prints after the pictures, to befupported by fubfcription, and very boldly undertook the work, which he executed himfelf, without any afliftance, even in the printing ; and they were finiihed about the year l 793. Having made fome alterations in the print after the laft picture of the fet, which he ftyled Elyfium, he thought proper to publifh another octavo pamphlet, entitled, a Letter to the Right Honourable the Prefident, Vice Prefidents, &c. of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, &c. In both thefe publications he gave a description of the pictures, and endeavoured to explain the fubjects of which they are compofed. This was a very proper precaution, for feveral of the parts could not have been uuderftood to reprefent what he meant to exprefs, without fuch elucidation ; for, like many other artifts of modern times, he had endeavoured to reprefent abftract and metaphyseal ideasf, which do not lie within the reach of art * Mr. Barry is extremely obfeure in his account of thefe tranfaclions. However it appears in his third publication, that he had two exhibitions, one in 1783, and another in 1784, by which he obtained the fum of 5031. 2 s. See his Letter to the Society of Arts, 6cc. page 84. f Mr.Barry, in defcribing the firft picture, gives the following explanation of one of the figures : "In the woman with the dead fawn over her moulder, and ** leaning on her male companion, I wiflied to glance at a matter often obferved " by travellers, which is, that the value and eftimation of women increafes ac- " cording to the growth and cultivation of fociety, and that amonglt favage na- " tions they are in a condition little better than beafts of burden." Whatever reflections Anecdotes of Painting. 305 art to defcribe by any vifible reprefentation. Yet it is but jufiice to confefs. tbat the work is not unworthy of the oblervation which Dr. Johnfon has made upon it in one of his let: ich was written at the time of the firfr exhibition of the pictu " Mr. Barry's exhibition was opened the fame day, and a book " was published to recommend it, which, if you read, you will " find decorated with fome fatirical ltrictures of Sir Jomua " Reynolds and others. I have not efcaped. You mult think " with fome efteem of Barry, for the compreheniion of his '' defign." M'liile he was engaged in this work, Mr. Penny retigned his fituation of Profeffor of Painting to the Royal Academy, of which he had been potfeued from the foundation of the in] tution, when Mr. Barry offered to rill the vacant chair, and - elected to it in 1782. But he was net over diligent, in preparing for the duties of his ofiice : on which account Sir Joihua Reynolds made fome remarks upon his conduct, to which B;. retorted with great infolence and brutalitv. Heea lectures March 2d, 17S4. In this fituation his turbulent difpofition foon began to ex- prefs itfelf. He became very outre in his remarks and af- fertions, and in the courie of a few years his difcourfes filled with little more than invectives igainft his idp- micians. He at length became fo intemperate in the language of his lectures, that a regular charge v as mred again it him, and reflections Mr. Barry might hope to excite in the minds of thofc pictures, inch attempts can never product 3 propofed ; and when .1 illultration is required, writer and not the -ho makes his picture intelligible. 504 Anecdotes of Tainting. arc! laid before the Council, which was the more effective and forcible, being written by Mr. Wilton,* the Keeper of the Royal Academy, a gentleman of the mod refpectable character, of tranquil manners, and benevolent temper. In confequence of this complaint, two or three meetings of the Academicians were held, to which Mr. Barry was alfo fum- moned ; and thefe confutations terminated in a vote of expul- fion, which, after being fubmitted to his Majefty's confideration, was approved by him, who gave fome very pointed and ftrong reafons for his confirmation of the fentence. In confequence of which, the following letter was communicated by the Secretary to Mr. Barry : " Sir, " The General Afiembly of Academicians having received " the report of the Committee appointed to investigate your " academical conduct ; decided, That you be removed from the " office of ProfetTbr of Painting ; and by a fecond vote, That " you be expelled the Royal Academy. " The journals of Council, the report of the Committee, and " refolutions of the General Afiembly, having been laid before " the King, His Majefty was gracioufly pleafcd to approve the " whole of the proceedings, and ftrike your name from the " roll of Academicians. lam, Sir, " Yourmoft obedient fervant, " Johx Richard, R. A. Sec." " James Barry, Efq. •" .Royal Academy, April 24, 1790." r * He died November 25, 1803. A fhort Anecdotes of Painting. 305 A Short time before his removal from the Royal Academy, he published a letter, addreffed to the " Dilettanti Society, refpecl- " ing the Obttntion of certain Matters efTentially neceflary for " the Improvement of Public TaSte, and for accomplishing the " original Views of the Royal Academy of Great Britain." After his expulfion, he gave a fecond edition of this pamphlet, to which he added an " Appendix, containing a Continuation of Details " of certain Facts which may affect; the fuccefsful Profecution of " the Art in the British School, and which fully explain and " comprehend the Matter and Mode of the Difpute between the " Royal Academy and the ProfeSTor of Painting, from its com- " mencement to its termination." In thefe laft pamphlets, Mr. Barry has introduced the fame complaints againll the Academicians which he before had ex- hibited in his lectures to the ftudents ; but of thefe plaintive publications the Dilettanti Society took not the leaSt notice. After this period, he loft much of the confequence which he before potTelTed ; nor did he attempt any further publication, except' a letter and petition, which he addrefTed to his Majefty, publifhed in the Morning Herald, December 3d 1799: In that letter he denied being the author of thofe additional lives which were fubjoined to anew edition of Pilkington's Dictionary of Painters, which had been published a Short time before, and were fuppofed to have been introduced by Mr. Barry. But this was a miftake, for it was conducted by Dr. Wolcott, a gentleman whom it would be difficult to praife for liberality or candour*. Although * In the anecdotes of Mr. Richard Wilfon, the landfcape painter, Dr. W. has given no jufl account of the Artift, for indeed he knew nothing of him; but Rr he 306 Anecdotes of Painting. Although Mr. Barry took fome pains to diftinguifh himfelf as a writer, it was not by his pen, but his pencil, that he princi- pally acquired reputation. His pictures were few, but generally of a large fize. His'principal work is that " On Human Culture," in the Great Room of the Society of Arts, in the Adelphi ; the beft dcfcription of which will be in his own words : " In this " feries, confifting of fix pictures on fubjects ufeful and agree- " able in them fe Ives, I have ftill further endeavoured to give " them fuch a connexion as might ferve to illuftrate one " great maxim or moral truth ; viz. that the obtaining of " happinefs, as well individual as public, depends upon culti- " vating the human faculties. We begin with man in afavage " ftate, full of inconvenience, imperfection, and mifery; and " we follow him through feveral gradations of culture and " happinefs, which, after our probationary ftate here, are finally " attended with beatitude or mifery. The firft is the ftory " of Orpheus ; the fecond a Harveft-home, or Thankfgiving " to Ceres and Bacchus; the third the Victors at Olympia*; " the fourth Navigation, or the Triumph of the Thames ; the " fifth the Difhibution of Premiums in the Society of Arts, &c. ; " and the fixth Elyfium, orthe State of final Retribution. Three " of thefe fubjecls are poetical, the others hiftorical." Thefe pictures are of confiderable magnitude. The twolargeft, which he has abufed his M.jefty, as ufual, tecaufe he had not given a commifTion to Mr. Wilfon— though he might have known, if he pleafed, that he was made Li- brarian to the Royal Academy, which is one of the fituations referved folely for his Majefty's difpofal. * This is by far the beft picture of the fet. Anecdotes of Painting. 307 which are the third and fixth of the fet, are forty-two feet in length ; the other four are fifteen feet fix inches long, and their heights are all equal, eleven feet fix inches. The figures are rather cololTal, a circumftance by no means favourable to the work, as it's magnitude is too great to be feen to advantage in the place where it is difpofed. It has already been obferved that Mr. Barry endeavoured by his pencil to convey ideas that can- not be excited or conveyed through the medium of painting, and in this vain attempt he was led to introduce fome groups which are perfectly ridiculous. A ftriking inftance is in the Triumph of the Thames. In this picture, the imaginary aquatic Deity is reprefented " as carried along by Tritons," under which charac- ter he has introduced the portraits of Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sebaftian Cabot, and Captain Cooke. Among thefe is alfo added the portrait of Dr. Burney, of mufical cele- brity. Thefe are alfo furrounded by Nereids, who are fporting in the waves. This heterogeneous group muft be ill unrated in the artifts' own words : " As mufic is naturally connected with matters of joy and " triumph, and that, according to all necefiary propriety, the " retinue of the Thames could not appear vvithout an artift in " this way, I was happy to find that there was no neceffity for " my cooperating with thofe who feem inclined to difgrace our " country, by recurring to foreigners. Whilft we can boaft a '* native fo eminently diuinguilhed for his mufical abilities as r r 2 " Dr. Burney, 308 Anecdotes of Painting. " Dr. Burney, whom I have introduced here behind Drake and " Raleigh with a ."* The fifth picture, which he has denominated the " Diftribution of the Premiums in the Society of Arts," is by it's compofition not very^expreffiveof the fubjeet, for the principal group is not difpofed in the principal part of the picture, but on one fide ; while the center is occupied by the reprefentation of fome ladies of high rank, whofe portraits he has introduced more for the fake of flattering their perfonal charms, than from any other apparent motive. The fixth picture, which is ftyled " Elyfium, or the State of Retribution," may be confidered as a collection of portraits of diftinguifhed perfons ; and though, as he obferves, fome of thofe " great men may have had exceptionable parts in their cha- " rafters, yet they were great men ;" and Mr. Barry has therefore confidered their greatnefs alone as fufflcient to entitle them to a place in Elyfium. The colouring of thefe pictures is of a cold and leather-like hue ; but which would have been lefs displeafing if the figures had been relieved by ftronger lights and fhadows. And though Mr. Barry talked much of the chiaro ofcuro, in fome of his lectures, heh as by no means availed himfelf in thefe works of the advantages refulting from it's proper application. * The whimficality of this affemblage of figures was pleafantly commented on by a lady, who obferved, that flie was by no means pleafed with Mr. Barry, for repreienting the Doctor in company with a party of naked girls dabbling in a horfe-pond. The Anecdotes of Painting. 309 The drawing of his figures, though not ftrikingly faulty, does not by any means poffefs fuperior merit. His contours are drv> and too ideal in their fry le, to be confidered as examples of cor- rectnefs ; and many of the figures are disproportioned to each other. That Mr. Barry himfelf entertained a very high opinion of thefe works, there can be no doubt ; for in feveral parts of hij writings, he fpeaks of them in a ftyle of no great mod eft v. The following is a paifage in his Letter to the Dilettanti Societv. " It will be exceedingly hard if the benefit of the laws thould " be withheld from the painter of fuch a work as that on " Human Culture— which for public intereft, and ethical utility " of fubject, for the cariigated purity of Grecian defign, for " beauty, grace, vigorous effect and execution, ftands lo fuccefs- " fully in the view and neighbourhood even of the to juftlv u celebrated Orleans collection* ; where the efforts of fo many * and fuch diiringuiilied heroes of the ancient fchools of art ' ; are fo happily united together for the advancement of in- '• formation and national tafte." We lhall make no comment u£>on this fpecimen of felf ap- plaufe ; but only obferve. that whatever opinion he might en- tertain of the production of his own pencil, thole who are real judges of art will fc lk them with the works of an Italian artift whom he has thought fit to ltigmatize with the following illiberal cenfure. " It is [able that- '• Annibal Carracci, who came to fuch a place as Rome, lhould * A: :he line Mi pnblifhed, the Italian pictures of the Orleans collection ^erc ca_:....-_. .... L; :. ... ... ^.._ I 3i0 Anecdotes of Painting. " have been fo far overlooked even by that court, as never to " have been employed about any papal work, and had the acl- " ditional mortification of feeing all court favour, employment, " and even the honour of knighthood, flung away upon fuch a " reptile as GiofefTo D'Arpino*." See Account of a Seizes of Pictures, page l 77. Befide the work at the Adelphi, he painted two or three large pictures for the late Alderman Boydell's Shakespear, the fubje&s of which are scenes from the play of Lear. Among his other pictures was his Venus rifing from the fea, already mentioned, which confifts of two figures, the Goddefs and Cupid, with two fea horfes in the back ground ; the fub- je<5t taken from Lucretius f- This may be confidered as his beil production, though not his greateft. He feldom painted any fmall pictures, for he feemed to enter- tain an idea that no work of art could be in a great ftyle, unlefs it were of great dimenfions. • Giofeffo or Giufeppe Cefari D'Arpino, commonly called Giofeppino, was honoured with the Order of St.Michael, by Louis XIII. and alfo Knighthood by Clement VIII. 'This artift was one of twelve who were chofen to paint each a picture for the King of Spain, and confequeutly was claffed witb Domenichino, Guido, Guercino, Pouffin, and other great artifts of that time. There are feveral of his works at Rome, and other cities of Italy ; and though it may be allowed that his works are not diftinguilhed by that purity of ftyle which characterizes the productions of Annibale Carracci, yet they are in a great and mafterly manner, very f uperior to the pictures of Mr. Barry. A faint judgment may be formed of D'Arpino's abilities by fix figures after his defigns, which are introduced into a work well known to collectors by the title of the Bifhops Statues. See the plates, 7, 8, 9, 10, 30, and 39. t There is a print after this picture, which was engraved in the dotted manner. The figure is enclofed in an oval. In Anecdotes of Painting. 3 1 1 In his writings he makes frequent mention of a picture which he intended to paint, the fubje6t, Pandora ; but which he never finifhed. If any judgment may be juftly formed from infpe&ing the iketch which he exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1774, the public, to whom he thought his works of much confequence, have fuffered no lofs by the picture not being completed. In the year 1773, Mr. Barry exhibited two three-quarter portraits at the Royal Academy, one of which was painted from Dr. Nugent, the father of Mrs. Burke, and, to the bell of the author's recollection, it was by no means ill drawn, thouo-h it was cold and feebly coloured. For this branch of the art he rather expreffes himfelf with contempt, in all his different writinos • and it is certain that neither his ^temper nor manners were cal- culated to recommend him to thofe who might choofe to fit for their portraits. In addition to the prints which he engraved from his own pictures in the Adelphi, he alfo executed fome original defigns of his compofition in aqua tinta; the fubject of one is Job fitting in diltrefs, furrounded hy his friends. He alfo defigned and etched a fmall plate, as a ticket of admiffion to a concert at Free-Mafons 1 Tavern, in which the Carmen Seculare of Horace, fet to mufic by Mr. Philidore was performed for the benefit of the compofer. This etching has great merit .The fize of the plate 6| inches high by 5 inches wide. His writings, particularly thofe which were publifhed after his M Enquiry," may be confidered as a medley of theology, politics, and 312 Anecdotes of Painting. and hiftory, combined with obfervations on art, all blended together, without arrangement or connexion, and certainly ex- hibiting a confiderable extent of reading, but which do not prove that the author pofleiTed a folidity of judgment equal to the confidence with which he alfertshis opinions. In his lectures, if they mould hereafter be printed as they were delivered to the ftudents of the Royal Academy, much infor- mation is not to be expected ; for he took lefs pains to inftru6l the pupils than to rail againft his fellow members of the Academy. Of thefe lectures he has given fome fpecimens, by extracts which are introduced into his letter to the Dilettanti Society ; and it is fingular that thofe pallages are full of invec- tives, becaufe his capricious whims were not complied with by the Council of the Royal Academy ; in which, from the time of his admiffion to his expulfion, he was a very reftlefs and turbu- lent member. Of his ftyle and manner of writing in his lectures, two or three fpecimens are here felected, from thofe parts which he has thought proper to print in the letter above mentioned. " It was my wifh to have carried to a much greater extent " thefe interefting remarks and purfuit of facts refpecting the " date of the arts in thofe early periods, but the contracted, 11 beggarly Jiate of the Academical library is a real, moft ex- " tenfive grievance." And again in the next page, " One might " have expe&ed that our library would have been filled with " whatever could be ufeful, and that the Profefibr might in his ° night-gown and flippers have an opportunity of examining " them conveniently, either by having aplace of refidence on the 4 " fpot, Anecdotes of Painting. 3 1 3 " fpot, or the permiffion of having them occafionally brought " to his own refidence*. " Vide page 227, and 228. In another of his extracts, in which he fpeaks of the neceffity of attending to the chiaro ofcuroin all conftruelions of architec- ture, he has introduced the following paffages. " The laws of u variegated unity being grounded upon the juft confederation " of the human faculties, and accommodated to our abilities " and inabilities of perception, they are therefore equally ap- " plicable to every whole and its parts, and are great agents of " fatisfaclion in other arts." — Again in the fucceeding page : " Thus it is apparent, that variegated unity, and its confe- " quent relievo, of a proportionate light and made, is the " operating caufe of the beautiful arrangements in archite6ture " as well as in painting and fculpture." See his Letter to the Dilettanti Society, pp. 231, 233. It may probably be fuggefted that thefe paffages were invi- dioufly fele&ed, as being the mofl exceptionable; but the fact is, that his writings, and particularly his lectures, abound with fimi- lar traits of felf confequence, and inexplicable attempts at defi- nitions, interfperfed withabufive comments upon thole perfonsj" who did not pay him that high refpecl to which he thought him- felf entitled. His * It is exprefsly againfl the laws of the Royal Academy that any of the books or other articles belonging to it fhould be removed from the premifes. f See his farcafm on the Hon. Horace Walpole, page 55 of his nrft publication, " The Inquiry," &c; alio his abufe of Mr. Dalton, page 114, of Sir William Chambers, 231 and 236', in his Letter to the Dilettanti Society. It may not be unentertaining to the reader to be told, that Mr. Walpole offended Mr. Barry, S » becaufe 3 1 4 Anecdotes of Tainting. His literary productions are as follows : 1. An Inquiry into the real and imaginary Obftructions to the Arts in England ; by James Barry, Royal Academician, and Member of the Clementine Academy of Bologna. London ; printed for T. Becket, corner of Adelphi, Strand, 1775. 2. An Account of a Series of Pictures in the Great Room of the Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, at the Adelphi ; by James Barr} 7 , R. A. Profeffor of Painting to the Royal Academy. London : printed for the Author, by William Adlard, Printer to the Society, and fold by T. Cadell in the Strand, and J. Walter, Charing Crofs, 1783. 3. A Letter to the Hon. the Prefident, Vice Prefidents, and the reft of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, John-ftreet, Adelphi ; by James Barry, R. A. Profeffor of Painting to the Royal Academy. London : printed for the Author, by Thomas Davifon, Black-horfe-court, Fleet-ftreet, 1793. 4. A Letter to the Dilettanti Society, refpecting the Obtention of certain Matters effentially neceffary for the Improvement of Public Tafte, and for accomplifhing the original Views of the Royal Academy of Great Britain ; by James Barry, Efq. R.A. Profeffor becaufe he had criticifed his pifture of Venus rifing from the fea. But he retorted Mr.Barry's rudenefs, by calmly obferving,wheu he read the paffage, that he wiflied not to injure him, for if the Houfe of Commons thought fit to vote that Mr. Barry mould decorate Weftminfter Hall with giants, he would be the laft perfon to oppofe the motion. Anecdotes of Painting. 315 Profeflbr of Painting to the Royal Academy. [This was firft publiflied in quarto ; but after he was expelled from the Royal Academy, a fecond edition was published, with an Ap- pendix, refpecting the matters lately agitated between the Academy and the Profeflbr of Painting.] London: printed for J. Walker, Paternofter-row, 1799, price five millings. 5. A Letter and Petition, addreffed to his Majefty : printed in The Morning Herald, Dec. 3d, 1799. Mr. Barry, by his temper and manners, might juftly be con- fidered as a humorift of the firft clafs. His behaviour was in ge- neral rude and overbearing, particularly to thofe whom he affected to coniider as his inferiors in abilities, and his felf-confequence led him to quarrel with fome of his belt friends, not excepting Mr. Burke and Sir Jofhua Reynolds ; yet he was capable of fo- liciting the renovation of their favour, when he thought his honour or intereft might be benefited by their intimacy, as was particularly the cafe with Sir Jofhua, whofe miftaken conduct he defended with great violence when he refigned the prefidency of the Royal Academy. This inrnnfiftent behaviour drew from a contemporary writer the following obfervation, that " he (Mr. " Barry ) who had formerly, with his fift clenched in the very face " of the Prefident, threatened him with a perfonal affault, when " his meafures were right ; now feemed difpofed to offer the fame " infult to any one who fhould dare to oppofe them, when they " were wrong:.*" ° Mr. * Vide a pamphlet with the following title, " Obfervations on the prefent State of the Royal Academy, with Characters of living Painters ; by an Old s s 2 Artift;" 3 1 6 Anecdotes of Painting. Mr. Barry was extremely negligent of his perfon and drefs, and not lefs fo of his houfe, in Caftle-ftreet, Oxford Market, in which he refided nearly twenty years, and until the time of his death i£ had become almoft proverbial for its dirty and ruinous flate. In this manfion he lived quite alone, and fcarcely ever admitted any vifitor. He was more than once invited to diue by fome of his friends, who, reflecting his abilities, wimed to treat him with kindnefs ; and as a favour to them he accepted their invitation. But fuch was his inconfiitent pride, that after dinner it was his cuftom to depofit eighteen pence upon the table, obferving, that he always dined for that fum, and therefore could not think of being obliged to any man for a meal. As his life was conducted with great whimficality, fo his death was accompanied by fome Angular circumftances. It had been his cuftom for feveral years to dine at a French eating-houfe in Wardour-ftreet Soho, to which place he went as ufual, although he had been unwell for fome days. He there met with an old acquaintance, who had juft arrived from Dublin, who, when in London, frequently dined with him. This gentle- man, finding Mr.Barry extremely ill, procured a coach, and con- ducted him home ; but they were unable to enter the houfe, as fome perfons had mifchievouQy flopped up the key-hole of the door. He was therefore taken by his friend to the houfe where he Artift:" quarto, printed at the Logographic Prefs, for Walter, oppofiteBond-ftreet, Piccadilly, 1790; price two (hillings: Anonymous. This pamphlet was publifhed at the time Sir Jofhua refigned the Prefidency of the Royal Academy, becaufe he was oppoftd in his endeavours to introduce a new member in an improper man- ner ; and it contains a moft impartial account of that tranfaclion. A necdotes of Painting. 3 1 7 he was himfelf accuftomed to lodge when in town ; but the miftrefs of it being unable to furnifli them both with beds, pro- cured one for Mr,Barry, to which he was conveyed, and he flept for the fpace of twenty -four hours. This circumitance alarmed the perfons where he lodged, and they applied to Mr. Bonomi, the architect, whofe fon, with fome difficulty, obtained ad- mittance into the chamber, when Mr. Barry was perfuaded to take fome fuftenance. He remained there till next morning, when he was kindly invited to Mr. Bonomi's houfe, which he reached with fome difficulty, and the day becoming rainy he was detained by his friend, who fitted up a bed for him, where he was liberally attended by his friend Dr. Fryer. In this fitu- ation he languished fifteen days, and expired on the 22d of February 1806, at the age of fixty-five. It fhould be obferved, that at his death, between thirty and forty pounds were found in his pocket. In the year 1794, having miflaid a fum of money, he proclaimed that his houfe had been plundered ;* but he afterwards difcovered where it had been depofited by himfelf. In consequence of his apprehenfion upon this occafion, it was his cuftom ever after to carry with him fuch of his money as he kept in his own poffeffion. By * Of this fuppofed robbery Mr. Barry thought proper to give the following whimlical and extraordinary account, in one of his lectures to the ftudents of the Royal Academy: " My houfe was broken open, and robbed of a confiderable fum, which I had " provided to purchafethe leafeof a houfe where I wifhed, quietly and retired, to " carry on another work for the public, about which I had been for fome time " engaged. What aggravated the matter ftill more was, that I had good reafon " to be affured iliat this robbery was not committed by mere thieves, but by " fome limbs of a motley, fhamelefs combination, fome of whom palled for my " friends, 318 Anecdotes of Painting. By his manner of life and Angular appearance, it was naturally fuppofed that he was in uneafy circumftances ; therefore, feveral members of the Society of Arts united to raife an annuity for his relief; in confequence of which the following advertifement appeared in the Herald of July 19th, 1805 : " Mr. Barry's Annuity. — At a meeting of the. fubfcribers to " the fund for railing an annuity for the life of James Barry, Efq. " held at the Great Room of the Society of Arts, &c. in the " Adelphi, on Friday the 1 lthof May 1805 ; " The Earl of Radnor in the Chair; " Refolved, That the perfervering attention of Mr. Barry, " during the greater! part of his life, to the cultivation of liberal " fcience in his profeffion, appears to have proceeded from pure " motives of public fpirit, and the love of the arts themfelves, " unmixed with views to pecuniary gain, and therefore at an " advanced age he does not poffefs the means of that comfort- " able fubfiftence which in an enlightened country might be " expected to follow talents fo rarely found and fo ufefully and " honourably exerted. " That this meeting, imprefied with an earned defire of " ameliorating his condition in this refpect, and of offering a tef- " timonial of their high fenfe of his merit as an artift, do ftrono-ly u recommend to the attention of the public the fubfcription. " which has been opened for raifing a fund to provide an an- " nuity for his life. " friends, well knew what I was, about, and wanted to interrupt and prevent it " by (tripping me of the neceffary means of carrying it on." The work here meant was the Pandora, already mentioned. Vide Letter to the Dilettanti Society, pp. 116, 117. Anecdotes of Painting. 3 1 9 " That thefe refolutions be printed in fuch of the public " papers as the committee fliall think proper. " That the thanks of the meeting be given to the Earl of " Radnor, for his great zeal in promoting the object of the " meeting, and for his able conduci in the chair." Before this advertifement appeared, printed letters*, figned by the Secretary of the Society, had been circulated to different gentlemen, requefting their aid to fuch fubfcription ; and in confequence of thefe felicitations the fum of £. 1,000. was raifed, by which an annuity of £ . 1 20. was purchafed of Sir Robert Peele, Bart, and to which an addition of £. 10. per annum was made by Lord Buchan. But Mr. Barry did not live to receive the firft payment of his annuity. As Sir Robert Peele had been fo unexpectedly benefited by the death of Mr. Barry, he offered to pay the expences of his inter- ment, and a gentleman of the name of Page joined in defraying the additional charge for the laying in flate. It was therefore determined * Of which the following is a copy : " Society of Arts, &c. Adelphi, " Sir, London, Feb. 28, 1805. " The Society inftituted for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and " Commerce, having by a resolution of the 30th ultimo, permitted their Secretary " to receive voluntary fubfcriptions from individuals, as well members of the " Society as others, in order to provide an annuity for the life of Mr. Barry, " adequate to the fum to be fubfcribed, I have the honour to apprife you, that " I am defired by a Committee of Subfcribers to that fund to communicate " fuch Refolution to you, and at the fame time to requeft the favour of being M informed how far you may be difpofed to promote the propofed object. " I am, &c. " Charles Taylor, Secretary." 320 Anecdotes of Painting. determined that the funeral mould be at St Paul's Cathedral. In confequence of which the corpfe was conveyed to the Great Room of the Society, in the Adelphi, on Thurfday the 13th of March, where it lay till the next day at noon, when it was con- veyed to St. Paul's, and depofited in the cripts, near the remains of Sir Chriltopher Wren and Sir Jofhua Reynolds. The funeral was attended by the following refpectable gentlemen, as pall- bearers : l. Sir Robert Peele, Bart. ; 1. Richard Clark, Efq. Chamberlain of the City; 3. General Watfon ; 4. Caleb White- ford, Efq. ; 5. Dr. Powell ; 6. Dr. Charles Taylor, Secretary to the Society of Arts, &c. The chief mourners were, Dr. Fryer and Dr. Combe. But the names of the other gentlemen who at- tended are not known to the Author. It may appear fingular, but not one artift was prefent upon the occafion. The fervice was performed in the Chapel of the north-weft corner, by the Minor Canon in waiting. The anecdotes of this gentleman cannot be better concluded than by obferving, that the peculiarities of his conduct upon dif- ferent occauons, led his beft friends to fufpect that Mi. Barry, in a certain degree, laboured under afpecies of mental derangement fomewhat refembling that of the celebrated Rouffeau. After his death, it was found that he had realized property to the amount of more than two thoufand pounds. His expences were fo fmall, that little had been taken from whatever he had ob- tained by his profevTional exertions. He had been ftrictly punc- tual in his dealings, and juft to others. It appears, that with all his eccentricities, he had a careful confideration of what might be necessary for himfelf. 3 21 INDEX OF THE NAMES OF THE PAINTERS CONTAINED IN THIS VOLUME. A ABBOTT, Lemuel - - - - page 281 ALEFOUNDER, J. -------- 110 ALLAN, David - - - 228 ARLAUD - - - - 266 ASTLEY, John ~ 124 B BAKER, John - p. 37 BARDWELL, Thomas 6 BARRETT, George - - --97 BARRON, Hugh 161 BARRON, William Augustus 162 BARRY, James --- 297 BENAZECH - 225 BENWELL, J. H. - 114 BENWELL, Mary ------ 95 BELL, William - - - 263 BLACK - .- 31 BLAKEY - - - 3 BOND, Daniel ------------- 387 BROMPTON, Richard ----- , 74 BROOKING - - - 5 Tt 3*22 INDEX. BRUNIAS, Augustin -----------..... p a „ e g, BUDD, George g BUNK, James ^l c CALZE, Edward Francis ----._. ....._. p^ 2 CaRPENTIER, Adrian 43 CARTER, George - - - 2 34 CARR, Johnfon --------------- ^..^q CARVER, Robert ----- 179 CARWARDINE, Mifs \ . CASALI, Andrew ---- -------- -«j 3 CATTON, Charles - - 259 CHALMERS, Sir George 17 3 CHAMBERLAIN, Mafon 121 CHAPMAN, Charles - - 53 CIPRIANI, John Baptist X11 GLERISSEAU ----.... - 3 CLEYELY.John ll8 COLLETT, John - - - - 67 COMER, John -----... 2 g COTES, Francis --_-_.______"_ «,» COTES, Samuel ------ 35 COZENS, Alexander lig COZENS, John i 20 CRONE, Robert 59 D DALE, Nicholas Thomas -------- P- 55 DALTON, Richard - 181 DAVY, Robert - 212 DAWES, Philip - - 9 DAYES, Edward - - - 285 DEAN, Hugh - 108 DE BRUYN, J. 284 DEVIS, Anthony 123 I N D E X. DEVIS, Arthur page 1 : : DONALDSON, John 270 DOWNES. Bernard 43 DUPONT, Gains igh H3 DURNO. James ij> E ECCARDT. Johannes Egu£os - - p. 59 ELMER, Stephen ---------- EVANS. George ----- - .... 31 EXSHAW - - F FALCONET, Peter f FARINGTJN. G -:- 156 FOLDSTONE.John 110 FRENCH. Thomas FRYE.J. 13 G GAINSBOROUGH, Thomas F G I RTIN, Thomas ;-p GRACE, Mrs. - - - 33 GREENWOOD, John - GRESSE, John Ale -.--------.--____ :: - GRIGMON, Charles - - - ,g 8 GRIMM, Samuel Hieronymo -----------_.. . 21 » GUTTENBRINN, L. H HACKERT, John p HAKEWELL, John HAMILTON. Gavin - - HAMILTON, William - HANNAN HAUCK. or HAWCK Tt 9 324 INDEX. HAYMAN, Francis ----- p a „ e so HEAD, Guy -------------_-____ 267 HODGES, William - 24! HOARE, William . j66 HONE, Nathaniel --------__ _ . 99 HOOD, J. or WHOOD - - 8 J JAMES, George ----__--___... ---p. 216 JAMES, William - - - 26 JEAN, P. ------- _ a 75 JENKINS, Thomas - - .--.._-- 258 JEFFERIES, James -----------------96 K KEEBLE, William - - - - p. 4 KETTLE, Tilly - - - 1 - - 104 KING, Thomas - - - - .______-_ 28 KIRBY, Joshua -------- - - - - 44 KITCHINMAN, John - - - 76 L LAMBERT, George .-..._.. p . 19 LEAKE, Henry ----- ....... o 5 LEIGH, Jared- - - - - 28 LEWIS ------- - - - - 31 LOWE, Mauritius ---- ._.---- 220 M MACOURT, C. p . 27 MANNINI, Gaetano 72 MARTIN, David - - - -------- 252 MEDINA, John - ----- 24.0 MEYERS, Jeremiah- - - - 158 MIERS - - 223 MORLAND, George ----- - - - - 290 MORLAND, Henry Robert - - -2S9 MOORE, Jacob - - 213 INDEX. 325 MORTIMER, John Hamilton page 60 MOSER, George Michael 91 MOSNIER, J. L. - - - - - 255 MUNTZ, J. H. 15 N NEWTON, Francis Milner - |>. 225 o OLIVIER, M. --._---.--------- p. 41 P PARKER, John - - - - p. 16 PARRY, William - - 162 PARS, William - - -.-_-__-.. 89 PARSONS, Francis - - - 286 PATON, Richard 165 PENNY, Edward - - - - 179 PERRONEAU 10 PILLEMENT, Joha 11 PINE, Robert Edge 171 PINE, Simon - 173 PLOTT, John Q83 PRATT, Matthew 22 PUGH, Herbert 70 PYLE, Robert 25 R RAMSAY, Allan p. 105 READ, Mifs Catherine 75 REDMOND, Thomas 115 REMSDYKE - - - 58 REYNOLDS, Sir Joshua 184 RILEY, Charles Reuben 261 ROBERTSON, George - 143 ROGERS, George .--.-- J 72 ROMA, Spiridone 118 ROMNEY,. George - 276 3-26 INDEX. ROOKER, Michael - page 264 ROPER - n ROTH, William 35 RUBBILIARD, Vincenzo 57 RUBENSTEIN, or RIEBENSTEIN i 7 RUNCIMAN, Alexander 7 , s SCHAAK, J. S.C. ----- p . ,- SCHWEICKHARDT - - 39 SERRES, Dominic --------------- --2 14 SERTES ----------- 53 SHAW - - - - 39 SHAW, James- -------------____. 10 o SMITH, Francis - - 66 SMITH, Thomas - - 30 SOLDI, Andrew --._..._ 2 6 SPENCER, Jarvis 18 SPICER, Henry - - - - 287 STEPIIAXOFF, Fileter 176 STOPPELAER - - - - 36 STORDY - - - - - .262 SWAIXE, Francis - 76 T TASSAERT, Philip p. 282 TAYLOR, Simon 176 THOMSON*, William - 68 TOMKINS, William - '- - - - 168 TOMS, Peter - 53 TUSCIIER, Marcus - 2 V VANDERGUTCHT, Benjamin - p. 229 VANDERMINE, or YAXDEE MIJXE 93 VANDVCK - 12 VANLOO, Chevalier - - 21 INDEX. 327 VERBRUGGEN, J. page 74 VESPRE »6o VILLEBRUNE, DE,Mary- - - 57 w WALE, Samuel p. 116 WARD, Captain 47 WEBB, Westfield 39 WEBBER, John 219 WEST, Temple 9+ WICKSTEAD, Philip 177 WILLIAMS, John 74 WILLISON, George 238 WILLS, Rev. James 55 WILSON, Benjamin 145 WILSON, Richard 77 WHEATLY, Francis 268 WHOOD, or HOOD 8 WRIGHT, Jofeph 253 WRIGHT, Mrs. - - 279 WRIGHT, Richard 48 z ZUCCARELLI, Francis P- 127 ZUCCHI, Antonio -239 FINIS. Printed by L^ke Hansard & Sons, neA Liucoln's-Iim Fields. ERRATA. I'age S, line 18. tor Row ana, read Rowtna. 5, line 21. for any, read any thing. 21, line 2. for Maffon, read Majon. 6.ina, read Roitena. 112, line 19. for Fario, read Veirio. 116, line 10. for Gyun, read Gwynn. 122, line 2. for Cafon, read Catton. 140, line 25. for Bnttall, read Buttall. 183, line 14. for ne paffed over, read be paffed orer. 199, line 25. for Carto, read Carlo. 209, line 22. for Clraci, read Ceracchi. 224, line 18. for Colnagi, read Colnaghi. 225, - - for Charles Benazee, read Benazech. 229, line 4. for InfroJuiftion, read Inftruciion. 235, line 12. foru-nen his purl'uit, read where his purfdit. 247, line 9. for peaceful Trader, read peaceful Traveller. 282, - - for Tassabt, read Tajfatrt. 520, line 5. for Oi/Jis, read Crypt. 1V c.i THE GETTY CENTE *v