Thomas Highmore (22 June 1660 – 8 March 1720) was an English painter of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was one of two sons born to Abraham Highmore, making him cousin to the surgeon Nathaniel Highmore. He was born and died in London. His apprenticeship to Leonard Cotes (1674-1681) just predated the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

, which put

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

on the British throne. William appointed Highmore his

Serjeant Painter The Serjeant Painter was an honourable and lucrative position as court painter with the English monarch. It carried with it the prerogative of painting and gilding all of the King's residences, coaches, banners, etc. and it grossed over £1,000 ...

in April 1703 and his successor in that role was his relation and apprentice

James Thornhill Sir James Thornhill (25 July 1675 or 1676 – 4 May 1734) was an English painter of historical subjects working in the Italian baroque tradition. He was responsible for some large-scale schemes of murals, including the "Painted Hall" at the ...

. His nephew

Joseph Highmore Joseph Highmore (13 June 1692 – 3 March 1780) was an English painter of portraits, conversation pieces and history subjects, illustrator and author. After retiring from his career as a painter at the age of 70, he published art historica ...

also later became a painter, though Joseph never studied under Thomas

References

1660 births 1720 deaths Painters from London 17th-century English painters 18th-century English painters {{England-painter-17thC-stub