Sir William Beechey (12 December 175328 January 1839) was a British 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. But as '' The Monthly Mirror'' later recorded in July 1798, he was: "Early foredoomed his ncle'ssoul to cross/ And paint a picture where he should engross."

Career

Prince Ernest, King of Hanover (1771-1851), c

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. 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 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 ''George III and the Prince of Wales Reviewing Troops'' was an oil on canvas painting by William Beechey, showing George III and his sons George, Prince of Wales and Frederick, Duke of York at an imagined review in Hyde Park. George rides Adon ...

'' 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 and

Sir Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at t ...

. 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 h ...

. 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 wrote that Capt. Jack Aubrey 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 (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 Beechey, Anne Jessop.John Wilson, ‘Beechey, Sir Will ...

(1798–1852); clergyman

St. Vincent Beechey St. Vincent Beechey (7 August 1806 – 19 August 1899) was a nineteenth-century vicar of Fleetwood and Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, and later of Worsley, Lancashire. He is known for founding Rossall School at Fleetwood in 1844, and he was ...

(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 National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

, London, 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, ''

'', 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

* * * *

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