Edward Byng (''ca.'' 1676 – 1753), sometimes spelt Bing, was an English portrait artist. Thought to be a native of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, Byng trained as an artist and became an assistant to

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 Kingdom of England, English and Br ...

about 1693. Another pupil of Kneller, Robert Byng (''fl.'' 1697–1720) was his brother. At the time of Kneller's death in 1723 Byng was his chief assistant and lived with him at a 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, w ...

. Kneller's will recorded that Byng had "for many years faithfully served me", gave him a pension of £100 a year and entrusted him with seeing that Kneller's unfinished work was completed, for which he would receive the outstanding payments. Byng also inherited drawings in Kneller's studio, many now in the British Museum. He later lived at

Potterne Potterne is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. The village is south of Devizes and lies on the A360 which links Devizes to Salisbury. The civil parish includes the hamlet of Potterne Wick. History There is evide ...

, near

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...

, where he died in 1753Edward Byng
at britishmuseum.org, accessed 24 November 2012 and was buried.''Notes & queries for Somerset and Dorset'', vol. 11 (1909), p. 85 The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

holds a large collection of Byng's sketchbooks and drawings. Like John James Backer he was a

drapery painter A drapery painter refers to a specialist painter commissioned to complete the dress, costumes and other accessories worn by the subjects of portrait paintings. They were employed by portrait painters with a large workshop in 18th century England.

for Kneller.

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* * 1670s births 1753 deaths English portrait painters 17th-century English painters English male painters 18th-century English painters Drapery painters 18th-century English male artists {{England-painter-17thC-stub