Francis Hayman (1708 – 2 February 1776) was an English painter and illustrator who became one of the founding members of the

Royal Academy 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 pur ...

in 1768, and later its first librarian.

Life and works

Born in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, Devon, Hayman begun his artistic career as a scene painter in London's

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks T ...

theatre (where he also appeared in minor roles) before establishing a studio in

St Martin's Lane St Martin's Lane is a street in the City of Westminster, which runs from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, after which it is named, near Trafalgar Square northwards to Long Acre. At its northern end, it becomes Monmouth Street. St Marti ...

. A versatile artist influenced by the French

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style, he achieved some note during the 1740s through decorative paintings executed for the supper boxes at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in London. Hayman was also a successful portraitist and history painter. Combining some of these, he contributed 31 pictures to a 1744 edition of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's plays by Sir

Thomas Hanmer Sir Thomas Hanmer, 4th Baronet (24 September 1677 – 7 May 1746) was Speaker of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1714 to 1715, discharging the duties of the office with conspicuous impartiality. His second marriage was the subject of ...

, and later portrayed many leading contemporary actors in Shakespearean roles, including

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...

(1760). He also illustrated Pamela, a novel by

Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and ''The History of ...

, Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' and ''Paradise Regained'',

Tobias Smollett Tobias George Smollett (baptised 19 March 1721 – 17 September 1771) was a Scottish poet and author. He was best known for picaresque novels such as '' The Adventures of Roderick Random'' (1748), '' The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle'' (1751 ...

's translation of ''Don Quixote'', and other well-known works. In the 1760s Hayman was commissioned by

Jonathan Tyers Jonathan Tyers (10 April 1702 – 1767) became the proprietor of New Spring Gardens, later known as Vauxhall Gardens, a popular pleasure garden in Kennington, London. Opened in 1661, it was situated on the south bank of the River Thames on ...

, proprietor of Vauxhall Gardens and the

Denbies Denbies is a large estate to the northwest of Dorking in Surrey, England. A farmhouse and surrounding land originally owned by John Denby was purchased in 1734 by Jonathan Tyers, the proprietor of Vauxhall Gardens in London, and converted into ...

estate, to paint a series of large-scale history paintings depicting British victories in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

. He was an able teacher. His pupils included

Mason Chamberlin Mason Chamberlin (1727–1787) was an English portrait painter, who was one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768. He was a student of Francis Hayman. He is perhaps best remembered for his portrait of Benjamin Franklin. Life C ...

Nathaniel Dance-Holland Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1st Baronet (8 May 1735 – 15 October 1811) was an English portrait painter and later a politician. Early life The third son of architect George Dance the Elder, Dance (he added the 'Holland' suffix later in li ...

Thomas Seton John Thomas Seton (c. 1738–1806), also spelled Thomas Seaton, was a Scottish painter. Life Seton was the son of Christopher Seton, a gem engraver of London. He was a pupil of Francis Hayman, and studied at the St Martin's Lane Academy. He went ...

and

Lemuel Francis Abbott Lemuel "Francis" Abbott (1760/61 – 5 December 1803) was an English portrait painter, famous for his painting of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (currently hanging in the Terracotta Room of number 10 Downing Street) and for those of other n ...

, and he was also a strong influence on

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

. With

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 ...

, Hayman was actively involved in the formation of the Society of Artists, a forerunner of the

, during the early 1760s. Hayman died in 1776 and was buried in an unmarked grave in

St Anne's Church, Soho Saint Anne's Church serves in the Church of England the Soho section of London. It was consecrated on 21 March 1686 by Bishop Henry Compton as the parish church of the new civil and ecclesiastical parish of St Anne, created from part of the pari ...

.Peter Matthews, ''Who's Buried Where in London'', p.33.

Gallery

File:The play scene from 'Hamlet' (Hayman c. 1745).jpg, ''The play scene from''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

, c. 1745 File:Francis Hayman 001.jpg, ''Dancing milkmaids'', c. 1735. The Milkmaid's Garland, Humours of May Day, Reigen der Milchmädchen, or das Manifest File:Francishayman.jpg, ''Print'', 1742,

V&A Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

no. 26614:53 File:Sir Edward Vernon by Francis Hayman c.1755 (detail).jpg, Sir Edward Vernon by Francis Hayman c.1755 (detail) File:Clive.jpg, ''Lord Clive meeting with

Mir Jafar Sayyid Mīr Jaʿfar ʿAlī Khān Bahādur ( – 5 February 1765) was a military general who became the first dependent Nawab of Bengal of the British East India Company. His reign has been considered by many historians as the start of the expa ...

at the Battle of Plassey in 1757''

References

* *Laurent Turcot
The Surrender of Montreal to General Amherst de Francis Hayman et l’identité impériale britannique
''Mens : revue d'histoire intellectuelle et culturelle'', Volume 12, numéro 1, automne 2011, p. 91-135. ;Notes

External links

*

(ArtCyclopedia)
Portrait of Hayman by Joshua Reynolds
(Philip Mould Fine Paintings) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayman, Francis 1708 births 1776 deaths 18th-century English painters 18th-century English male artists English male painters English illustrators Artists from Exeter Royal Academicians Burials at St Anne's Church, Soho