Benjamin Wilson (June 21, 1721 – June 6, 1788) was a British painter, printmaker and scientist (natural philosopher).

Life

He was the 14th child of Major Wilson, a wealthy

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as ...

clothier whose house was decorated by the French history painter, Jacques Parmentier (d 1730). His father's business failed and Wilson moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he became a legal clerk and began to study painting, with the encouragement of

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...

, taking life-drawing classes at St. Martin's Lane Academy. For two weeks in 1746 and again from 1748 to 1750 he was in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, where he practised successfully as a

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and ...

and electrical scientist. On his return to London he settled into

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to English and British monarchs from ...

's old house in

Great Queen Street Great Queen Street is a street in the West End of central London in England. It is a continuation of Long Acre from Drury Lane to Kingsway. It runs from 1 to 44 along the north side, east to west, and 45 to about 80 along the south side, ...

and built up a lucrative portrait practice, competing with the young

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

. He obtained an introduction to

Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany, (Edward Augustus;In ''The London Gazette'', the Prince is called simply 'Prince Edward'16 November 1756 Earl of Mexborough Earl of Mexborough, of Lifford in the County of Donegal, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 11 February 1766 for John Savile, 1st Baron Pollington, Member of Parliament for Hedon and New Shoreham. He had already been cr ...

. The Duke hired Wilson to manage his small private theater in London, and in 1773 was instrumental in having Wilson appointed as Painter to the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

, though he seems to have painted little after 1777. As a scientist he opposed

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

's theory of positive and negative electricity. Instead, Wilson supported

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the great ...

's gravitational-optical ether, which he supposed to differ in density around bodies in accordance with their degrees of electrification. Wilson also opposed Franklin's theory of pointed lightning rods, holding that blunt conductors performed better than pointed ones. Wilson also tried to increase the light intensity and duration of solid state

luminescent Luminescence is spontaneous emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat; or "cold light". It is thus a form of cold-body radiation. It can be caused by chemical reactions, electrical energy, subatomic motions or stress on a crystal ...

materials. He was the first to presume that metal impurities affect the colour of the luminescence. He experimented with oyster shells to solidify this hypothesis, but contaminations were however too large to come to conclusions. His best experimental work was on the electrical properties of

tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline Silicate mineral, silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is a gemstone and can be found in a wide variety o ...

, which gained Wilson international recognition, including election to several European academies of science. He had already been elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

in 1751 and received its gold Copley medal in 1760 for his tourmaline experiments. Amongst Wilson's art pupils were portrait painter Richard Brompton (d. 1782) and the famous future Royal Academician

Johann Zoffany Johan Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810) was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections, includin ...

References

External links

Benjamin Wilson online
(ArtCyclopedia)
Portrait of Arthur Macro
(

The Art Fund Art Fund (formerly the National Art Collections Fund) is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Benjamin 1721 births 1788 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters English portrait painters English scientists Recipients of the Copley Medal 18th-century English people Fellows of the Royal Society 18th-century English male artists