Sir William Beechey (12 December 175328 January 1839) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
portraitist during the golden age of
British painting.
Early life
Beechey was born at
Burford
Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswolds, Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeas ...
, Oxfordshire, on 12 December 1753, the son of William Beechey, a solicitor, and his wife Hannah Read. Both parents died when he was still quite young in the early 1760s, and he and his siblings were brought up by his uncle Samuel, a solicitor who lived in nearby
Chipping Norton
Chipping Norton is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold Hills in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Banbury and north-west of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the civil parish population as ...
.
The uncle was determined that the young Beechey should likewise follow a career in the law, and at an appropriate age he was entered as a clerk with a conveyancer near
Stow-on-the-Wold
Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top of an 800-foot (244 m) hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman origin. The town was found ...
. But as ''
The Monthly Mirror
''The Monthly Mirror'' was an English literary periodical, published from 1795 to 1811, founded by Thomas Bellamy, and later jointly owned by Thomas Hill and John Litchfield. It was published by Vernor & Hood from the second half of 1798.
The ''M ...
'' later recorded in July 1798, he was: "Early foredoomed his
ncle'ssoul to cross/ And paint a picture where he should engross."
Career
Beechey was admitted to the
Royal Academy Schools
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 purpo ...
in 1772, where he is thought to have studied under
Johan Zoffany
Johan Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810) was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections, includin ...
. He first exhibited at the Academy in 1776. His earliest surviving portraits are small-scale full-length and conversation pieces which are reminiscent of Zoffany. In 1782, he moved to Norwich, where he gained several commissions, including a portrait of
Sir John Wodehouse and a series of civic portraits for
St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich
St Andrew's Hall and Blackfriars' Hall or The Halls are a Grade I listed complex of former friary church and convent buildings in the English city of Norwich, Norfolk, dating back to the 14th century. They make up the most complete friary s ...
. By 1787, he had returned to London, and in 1789, he exhibited a celebrated portrait of
John Douglas, Bishop of Carlisle (now in
Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...
). Beechey's career during this period is marked by a succession of adept and restrained portraits in the tradition 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 depend ...
.
Beechey's style perfectly suited the conventional taste of the royal family, and in 1793, he was commissioned to paint a full-length portrait of
Queen Charlotte
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
and subsequently named as her official portrait painter. That same year, he was elected as an associate member of the Royal Academy.
Following his royal appointment, the number of royal commissions he undertook increased markedly, and in 1797 he exhibited six royal portraits. In 1798, he was elected a full member of the Royal Academy and painted ''
George III and the Prince of Wales Reviewing Troops'' for that year's academy's exhibition. This enormous composition depicts
King 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 ...
, the
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
and staff officers on horseback at an imagined cavalry review in
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
. The king was reported to be delighted with the painting and rewarded Beechey with a knighthood.
Joseph Farington's Diaries give many accounts of Beechey's relations with the royal family during this period, including his temporary fall from favour in 1804, which Farington attributes to the vagaries of George III's mental condition.
Beechey's portraits of the turn of the century are considered to be his most colourful and lively. They are closer to the flamboyant and free techniques employed by his younger rivals,
John Hoppner
John Hoppner (4 April 175823 January 1810) was an English portrait painter, much influenced by Reynolds, who achieved fame as a brilliant colourist.
Early life
Hoppner was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of German parents – his mothe ...
and
Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Royal patronage resumed in around 1813, when Beechey was appointed portrait painter to
Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, and culminated with his appointment in 1830 as principal portrait painter to
King 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 hi ...
. In 1836, Beechey retired to
Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...
and on 9–11 June that year, the contents of his studio along with his collection were sold at Christie's.
Although capable of impetuousness and irascibility, Beechey was known for his generosity to students. In particular, he took a close interest in the career of the young
John Constable
John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...
.
Subjects
During a prolific career spanning half a century, Beechey painted many of the leading figures of his day. His sitters included:
In his 1978 novel ''
Desolation Island,''
Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, Order of the British Empire, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during t ...
wrote that Capt.
Jack Aubrey
John "Jack" Aubrey , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from lieutenant to rear admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty (and one incomple ...
had been painted by Beechey. The portrait, which showed Aubrey in
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
uniform wearing the insignia of the
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
, hung in his home, Ashgrove Cottage.
Family
William Beechey's first marriage was to Mary Ann Jones (c. 1760–1793) in 1772 (other sources say 1778). Their children included British painter and Egyptologist
Henry William Beechey
Henry William Beechey (1788/89 – 4 August 1862) was an English painter and explorer. His father was the painter William Beechey, Sir William Beechey, Royal Academy, RA and his stepmother was Anne Beechey, Anne Jessop.John Wilson, 'Beechey, Si ...
(1788–1862).
Following his first wife's death, Beechey married the successful miniature painter
Anne Phyllis Jessop (1764–1833) in 1793.
[John Wilson, "Beechey, Sir William (1753–1839)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 200]
Retrieved 2 May 2017
/ref> They had many children together, including: Royal Navy captain, geographer, and politician Frederick William Beechey
Frederick William Beechey (17 February 1796 – 29 November 1856) was an English naval officer, artist, explorer, hydrographer and writer.
Life and career
He was the son of two painters, Sir William Beechey, RA and his second wife, Anne ...
(1796–1856); painter George Duncan Beechey
George Duncan Beechey (1798 – 6 December 1852) was an English portrait painter.
Life and career
Beechey was the fourth child of two painters, Sir William Beechey and his second wife, Anne Jessop.John Wilson, ‘Beechey, Sir William (1753–1 ...
(1798–1852); clergyman St. Vincent Beechey (1806–1899); and painter and admiral in the British navy Richard Brydges Beechey
Richard Brydges Beechey (1808 – 14 March 1895) was an Anglo-Irish painter and admiral in the Royal Navy.
Early life
Beechey was born to two British painters, Sir William Beechey and his second wife, Anne Jessop.John Wilson, ‘Beechey, ...
(1808–1895).
File:Miss Harriet Beechey.jpg, ''Miss Harriet Beechey'',
by William Beechey, c. 1800
File:Anne Phyllis Beechey nee Jessop.jpg, ''Anne Jessop, Lady Beechey'', by William Beechey, c. 1800
Prices at auction
Beechey's ''Portrait of James Watt'' sold for £153,440 at Sotheby's on 20 March 2003. His ''Portrait of Mirza Abu'l Hassan Khan, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of King George III'' sold for £181,600 at Christie's on 8 June 2006. His ''Portrait of George Douglas, 16th Earl of Morton in the dress of the Royal Company of Archers'' sold for £481,250 at Christie's on 5 July 2011. His portrait of ''The Dashwood Children'' sold at auction for $821,000 including premium at Christie's on 29 January 2014.
Gallery
Beechey's works are represented in many of the world's leading collections, including the Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
, the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
, the Royal Collection
The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world.
Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...
, the Royal Academy of Arts
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 purpo ...
, the National Portrait Gallery, London
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...
, the Tate
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
.
File:John Wodehouse MP Norfolk (1741-1834) by William Beechey.jpg, '' Sir John Wodehouse, Bt, later 1st Baron Wodehouse (1741–1834)'', 1785
File:The Dashwood children.jpg, ''The Dashwood Children'', c. 1789
File:Paul Sandby RA, ca. 1789.jpg, '' Paul Sandby RA (1731-1809)'', c. 1789
File:George Douglas, 16th Earl of Morton (1761-1827) by William Beechey, (Burford, Oxforshire 1753-1839 London).jpg, '' George Douglas, 16th Earl of Morton (1761–1827)'', c. 1790
File:Sir William Beechey - Master James Hatch (1796).jpg, ''Master James Hatch'', 1796
File:Beechey - Queen Charlotte (Courtauld Gallery).jpg, '' Queen Charlotte (1744–1818)'', 1796–1812
File:Prince of Wales (later George IV), ca. 1798.jpg, '' George IV (1762–1830) when Prince of Wales'', c. 1798
File:George III and the Prince of Wales Reviewing Troops (1798).jpg, '' George III and the Prince of Wales Reviewing Troops'', 1798
File:Beechey Hope.jpg, ''Thomas Hope'', 1798
File:Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson by Sir William Beechey.jpg, '' Horatio, 1st Viscount Nelson'', 1800
File:Elizabeth Charlotte Eden, Lady Godolphin (1780-1847), by William Beechey.jpg, '' Elizabeth Eden, Lady Godolphin (1780–1847)'', c. 1800
File:James Watt (1736–1819).jpg, '' James Watt (1736–1819)'', c. 1802
File:Princess Augusta, c.1802.jpg, '' Princess Augusta Sophia (1768–1840)'', c. 1802
File:Mirza Abu'l Hassan Khan by William Henry Beechey.jpg, '' Mirza Abu'l Hassan Khan'', 1809–10
File:Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge - Beechey 1818.jpg, '' Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge (1797–1889)'', 1818
File:William Beechey - Miss Windham - 1976-25 - Auckland Art Gallery.jpg, ''Miss Windham'', 1828
Coat of arms
Beechey was granted arms on 16 February 1829.
References
Sources
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External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beechey, William
1753 births
1839 deaths
18th-century English painters
English male painters
19th-century English painters
People from Burford
English portrait painters
Royal Academicians
English knights
18th-century English male artists