Henry Bone (6 February 1755 – 17 December 1834) was an English enamel painter who was officially employed in that capacity by three successive monarchs,

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

and

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

. In his early career he worked as a

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

and jewelry painter. He was elected a

Royal Academician 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 ...

and produced the largest enamel paintings ever seen up to that time.

Life and work

Henry Bone was born in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. His father was a

cabinet maker A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves and/or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (s ...

and carver of unusual skill. In 1767, Bone's family moved to

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

in neighbouring Devon, where Henry was apprenticed, in 1771, to

William Cookworthy William Cookworthy (12 April 170517 October 1780) was an English Quaker minister, a successful pharmacist and an innovator in several fields of technology. He was the first person in Britain to discover how to make hard-paste porcelain, like t ...

, the founder of the Plymouth porcelain works, and the first manufacturer of

Hard-paste porcelain Hard-paste porcelain, sometimes "true porcelain", is a ceramic material that was originally made from a compound of the feldspathic rock petuntse and kaolin fired at very high temperature, usually around 1400 °C. It was first made in China a ...

in England. In 1772, Bone moved, with his master, to the Bristol china works, where he remained for six years, working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and studying drawing at night. His china decoration is of high merit, and is said to have been marked with the figure "1" in addition to the factory-mark, a small cross. On the failure of the Bristol works in 1778, Bone came to

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with one guinea of his own in his pocket, and five pounds borrowed from a friend. He first found employment

enameling Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word comes from the Lati ...

watches and fans, and afterwards in making enamel and

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

portraits. He became a friend of

John Wolcot John Wolcot (baptised 9 May 1738 – 14 January 1819) was an English satirist, who wrote under the pseudonym of "Peter Pindar". Life Wolcot was baptised at Dodbrooke, near Kingsbridge, Devon. In the parish register, his surname was spelled " ...

, and, on his advice, made professional tours in Cornwall. On 24 January 1780, he married Elizabeth Vandermeulen, a descendant of the distinguished battle-painter

Adam Frans van der Meulen Adam Frans van der Meulen or Adam-François van der MeulenAdam Frans van der Meulen
at 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 ...

, a portrait of his wife, an unusually large enamel for the period. He then gave himself up entirely to enamel-painting, and continued frequently to exhibit at the Academy, initialing most of his works. Henry Gawler (1766-1852) and his brother John Bellenden Ker (1765-1842) holding a portfolio, as children with their dog by Henry Bone

Henry Gawler (1766-1852) and his brother John Bellenden Ker (1765-1842) holding a portfolio, as children with their dog by Henry Bone

In 1789, he exhibited "A Muse and Cupid", the largest enamel painting ever executed up to that time. In 1800 he was appointed enamel painter to the Prince of Wales; in 1801 he was made an associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) and enamel painter to

, continuing to hold the appointment during the reigns of

and

. On 15 April 1811 he was elected a royal academician (RA), and shortly afterwards produced a still larger enamel (eighteen inches by sixteen), after Titian's ''Bacchus and Ariadne''. More than 4000 people saw the work at Bone's house. The picture was sold to Mr. G. Bowles of Cavendish Square for 2,200

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

, the sum of which was paid (either wholly or partly) by a cheque drawn on Fauntleroy's Bank. Bone cashed the cheque on his way home, just in time, as the next day financial difficulties caused the bank to suspend payments! In the preparation and firing of his large plates, he was assisted by

Edward Wedlake Brayley Edward Wedlake Brayley (177323 September 1854) was an English historian and topographer. Brayley collaborated with his life-long friend, John Britton, on the first 6 volumes of ''The Beauties of England and Wales''. Early life Brayley was ...

, who was by then already a distinguished antiquary, but had trained as an enameller. Bone's next great works were a series of historical portraits from the time of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, a series of "Cavaliers distinguished in the Civil War", and a series of portraits of the Russell family. The Elizabethan series did not prove a financial success; they were exhibited at his house at 15

Berners Street Berners Street is a thoroughfare located to the north of Oxford Street in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, originally developed as a residential street in the mid-18th century by property developer William Berners (property de ...

. In 1831 his eyesight failed, and after having lived successively at Spa Fields, 195 High Holborn, Little Russell Street, Hanover Street, and Berners Street, he moved in that year to Somers Town, and reluctantly received the Royal Academy pension. He died on 17 December 1834, not without complaining of the neglect with which he had latterly been treated. He is said to have been "a man of unaffected modesty and generosity; friendship and integrity adorned his private life".

Francis Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

carved a bust of him, and

John Opie John Opie (16 May 1761 – 9 April 1807) was an English historical and portrait painter. He painted many great men and women of his day, including members of the British Royal Family, and others who were notable in the artistic and literary ...

John Jackson John or Johnny Jackson may refer to: Entertainment Art * John Baptist Jackson (1701–1780), British artist * John Jackson (painter) (1778–1831), British painter * John Jackson (engraver) (1801–1848), English wood engraver * John Richardson ...

, and George Harlow all painted his portrait. Richard Dagley was a friend.

Legacy

Some time before his death Bone offered his collections, which had been valued at £10,000, to the nation for £4,000, but the offer was declined, and on 22 April 1836 they were sold by auction at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

, and so dispersed. Other major sales of his works took place in 1846, 1850, 1854, and 1856. Bone has been called the "Prince of Enamelers". J. Jope Rogers published a large catalogue of 1,063 works of the Bone family in the ''Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall'', No. XXII, for March 1880 - half of which was taken up by works by Henry Bone.

Family

Two of his sons,

Henry Pierce Bone Henry Pierce Bone (6 November 1779 – 21 October 1855 London) was an English enamel painter. Life Bone was the son of Henry Bone, the notable enamel painter, and Elizabeth Van der Meulen, a descendant of the distinguished battle-painter Ada ...

and Robert Trewick Bone, were also notable enamellists. Another son, Thomas Bone, was a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

who was wrecked and drowned in a

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

called ''Racehorse'' off the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, while yet another, Peter Bone, was a lieutenant in the 36th Regiment, who was wounded at the Battle of Toulouse and died soon after returning to England. A fifth son was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

Gallery

File:Hope, Henry Philip (Bone, after Head).png, ''Henry Philip Hope'' (1802) File:Duchess of Kent and Victoria by Henry Bone.jpg, ''Duchess of Kent and Victoria'' (1824/5) File:Sophia Lady Burrell as Hebe - Henry Bone, R.A. (1804).jpg, ''Sophia Lady Burrell as Hebe'' (1804) File:Hope nursing Love - Bone 1808.jpg, ''Hope nursing Love'' (1808)

References

;Attribution

External links

*

(ArtCyclopedia)
A pair of enamels
(