Edward William John Hopley (1816–1869), was an English painter.

Biography

Hopley was born in

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of 32 ...

, Kent, and resided for the early part of his life at

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

in Sussex. He was originally destined for the medical profession, but soon turned to art, settled in London, and after some years succeeded in gaining popularity as a painter of domestic subjects, and also of portraits. In 1845, he exhibited at the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it w ...

a picture entitled ''Love not'' and in 1854 and 1855 two pictures illustrating the Vicissitudes of Science, viz. ‘''Sir Isaac Newton explaining to Lord Treasurer Halifax his Theory of Colour''’ and ‘''Michael Angelo in the Gardens of the Medici''. In 1859, he exhibited a picture entitled ''The Birth of a Pyramid'', the result of considerable archaeological research and industry, which attracted attention. He exhibited first at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

in 1851, when he sent ''Psyche''. His last work was a portrait of the biologist

Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils. Owe ...

, exhibited at the British Institution in 1869. Hopley resided latterly at 14 South Bank,

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

, where he died 30 April 1869, in his fifty-third year. He was buried on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

. His brother

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

was later buried with him. He was also known as a collector of butterflies and moths, and studied the effects of food and environmental conditions on variation.

References

* * 1816 births 1869 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery English painters People from Whitstable English lepidopterists

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

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