John Boultbee (1753–1812) was an English painter of equestrian and other sporting subjects. He was born in

Osgathorpe Osgathorpe is a small village which lies in a fold of the hills in North West Leicestershire, England, and is about a quarter of a mile from the A512 Coalville to Loughborough Road. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 411. Th ...

, Leicestershire on 4 June 1753 and died in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

on 30 November 1812. He had a twin brother Thomas (1753–1808) who was also a painter. They both entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1775 during the period of the presidency of

Sir 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 depen ...

, exhibiting in London, including at the Royal Academy. John Boultbee exhibited six paintings at the Royal Academy The first in 1776 (''A landscape'') and the last two in 1788 (''Portrait of Horses'' and ''Portrait of a favourite horse of Mr Bakewell''). John Boultbee was greatly admired by

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 ...

, who commissioned several horse-portraits by him and assigned him a residence in

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of , including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for man ...

so that he might carry out his painting duties more conveniently. Boultbee was influenced by the work of

George Stubbs George Stubbs (25 August 1724 – 10 July 1806) was an English painter, best known for his paintings of horses. Self-trained, Stubbs learnt his skills independently from other great artists of the 18th century such as Joshua Reynolds, Reynold ...

, and

Sawrey Gilpin Sawrey Gilpin (30 October 1733 – 8 March 1807) was an English animal painter, illustrator, and etcher who specialised in paintings of horses and dogs. He was made a Royal Academician. Life and work Gilpin was born in Carlisle in Cumbr ...

. Later in life he lived and worked in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, Leicestershire, Chester and finally Liverpool where he died in 1812. Highflyer

References

Bibliography

*Noakes, Aubrey, ''Sportsmen in a landscape''. JB Lippincott & Co, Philadelphia, 1954. *Waterhouse, Ellis. ''The dictionary of British 18th century painters in oils and crayons''. Antique Collectors' Club, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1981. 1753 births 1812 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters Equine artists 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists {{England-painter-stub