Stephen Slaughter (baptised 1697, died 1765) was an English portrait painter. He spent periods of his career in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, where he introduced the English style of portrait painting.

Life

He was the son of Stephen and Judith Slaughter, was baptised in London, and had the artist Judith Lewis as a sister. It has been claimed that John Lewis ( fl. 1737–1769), also an artist, was Slaughter's brother-in-law; but it is disputed whether Lewis was the husband of Judith Slaughter. Slaughter studied under Godfrey Kneller from 1712. In 1720, on the account of

Joseph Highmore Joseph Highmore (13 June 1692 – 3 March 1780) was an England, English painter of Portrait painting, portraits, conversation pieces and History painting, history subjects, illustrator and author. After retiring from his career as a painter ...

, he was at the London academy of Louis Cheron and

John Vanderbank John Vanderbank (9 September 1694 – 23 December 1739)Waterhouse, Ellis. ''Painting in Britain 1530–1790'' (Penguin Books, 1957). was a leading English portrait painter who enjoyed a high reputation during the last decade of King George I ...

. There followed a long period abroad, in France and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

. Returning in 1732–33 to London, Slaughter then set up in Dublin during 1734, paying a longer visit in the 1740s. Slaughter influenced in particular

Thomas Frye Thomas Frye (c. 1710 – 3 April 1762) was an Anglo-Irish artist, best known for his portraits in oil and pastel, including some miniatures and his early mezzotint engravings. He was also the patentee of the Bow porcelain factory, London, ...

, as did James Latham. In 1745 Slaughter became Surveyor of the King's Pictures, in succession to Peter Walton. From 1748 he spent time on picture restoration. On 14 July 1765, two months after his death, he was elected to the

Accademia del Disegno The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno ("Academy of the Arts of Drawing") is an academy of artists in Florence, Italy. Founded as Accademia e Compagnia delle Arti del Disegno ("Academy and Company of the Arts of Drawing") on 13 January 1563 by ...

, with William Oram.

Portraits

Portrait of Major General Richard St George by Stephen Slaughter (London 1697-1765)

*1736

Sir Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...

*1737 Hon. John Spencer *1737 Lady Georgiana Spencer, wife of the Hon. John Spencer *1742

Sir Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leade ...

*1744

William Stewart, 1st Earl of Blessington William Stewart, 1st Earl of Blessington (7 April 170914 August 1769) was an Anglo-Irish peer and member of the House of Lords, styled The Honourable William Stewart until 1728 and known as The Viscount Mountjoy from 1728 to 1745. Life Stewart ...

*1744

Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon Henry Boyle, 1st Earl of Shannon, PC (1682 – 28 December 1764), was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer who served as the speaker of the Irish House of Commons from 1733 to 1756. A prominent parliamentarian who sat for almost fifty years i ...

*1744

John Hoadly John Hoadly (27 September 1678 - 19 July 1746) was an Anglican divine in the Church of Ireland. He served as Bishop of Ferns and Leighlin (1727 to 1730), as Archbishop of Dublin (1730 to 1742), and as Archbishop of Armagh from 1742 until hi ...

*1753 Sir George Lee * Nathaniel Kane

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaughter, Stephen Year of birth missing 1765 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters English portrait painters 18th-century English male artists