John Guise (1682 or 1683 – 12 June 1765) was a British Army officer and art collector.

Art collector

He was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

from 1702 to which he later bequeathed his large collection of over 200 paintings and almost 2,000 drawings by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci,

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...

and Raphael - one such work is

Annibale Carracci Annibale Carracci (; November 3, 1560 – July 15, 1609) was an Italian painter and instructor, active in Bologna and later in Rome. Along with his brother and cousin, Annibale was one of the progenitors, if not founders of a leading strand of th ...

's '' Madonna and Child in Glory over the City of Bologna''. Since 1968 they have been housed in the Christ Church Picture Gallery. In 1719 he was one of the original backers of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

and others.Thomas McGeary. ''The Politics of Opera in Handel's Britain''. Cambridge University Press, 2013. p.254

Military career

He obtained a practical knowledge of the profession of arms in the wars of Queen Anne. He served many years in the

1st Regiment of Foot Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, and was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of that regiment in 1736. On 1 November 1738 King George II rewarded him with the colonelcy of the

6th Regiment of Foot 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. In 1739 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, and served as one of the senior officers during the unsuccessful

Siege of Cartagena The Battle of Cartagena de Indias ( es, Sitio de Cartagena de Indias, lit=Siege of Cartagena de Indias) took place during the 1739 to 1748 War of Jenkins' Ear between Spain and Britain. The result of long-standing commercial tensions, the war w ...

during the War of Jenkin's Ear in 1741. Further promotions took place in 1742 to that of major-general, in 1745 to that of lieutenant-general, and in 1762 to that of general. He held the appointment of governor of Berwick several years, and died in June 1765.

References

p. 109
(1837).

External links

* John Guise (1682/3–1765) in '' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. 1680s births 1765 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army generals Grenadier Guards officers Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession {{British-Army-bio-stub