Bartholomew Dandridge (1691 – c. 1754) was an English

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

Life

According to Horace Walpole, Dandridge was the son of a house-painter. He studied at Sir

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to Kingdom of England, English and Br ...

's academy of painting and later at the

St Martin's Lane Academy The St Martin's Lane Academy, a precursor of the Royal Academy, was organised in 1735 by William Hogarth, from the circle of artists and designers who gathered at Slaughter's Coffee House at the upper end of St Martin's Lane, London. The artisti ...

. He had a career as a fashionable portrait painter in London for more than forty years, working in a style similar to that of

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 George I of Gr ...

. In 1732, he was commissioned by Lord Barington to paint a portrait of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...

on horseback. In 1733, he moved to 55,

Great Queen Street Great Queen Street is a street in the West End of central London in England. It is a continuation of Long Acre from Drury Lane to Kingsway. It runs from 1 to 44 along the north side, east to west, and 45 to about 80 along the south side, w ...

, which had formed part of the house of Sir Godfrey Kneller until his death two years before. He played a part in the development of the

conversation piece A conversation piece refers to a group portrait in a domestic or landscape setting depicting persons chatting or otherwise socializing with each other.Nathaniel Hooke Nathaniel Hooke (c. 1687 – 19 July 1763) was an English historian. Life He was the eldest son of John Hooke, serjeant-at-law, and nephew of Nathaniel Hooke the Jacobite soldier. He is thought by John Kirk to have studied with Alexander Pope ...

and of Frederick, Prince of Wales are in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, as is another painting by Dandridge, believed to be of

William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, but ...

. The collection of the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

includes a ''Portrait of a Painter'' by Dandridge; this may be the self-portrait he is recorded as having painted in 1729, although the identification of the subject is not certain. Nathaniel Hooke by Bartholomew Dandridge

Nathaniel Hooke by Bartholomew Dandridge

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dandridge, Bartholomew 1691 births 1750s deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters English portrait painters Artists from London Place of birth missing Year of death uncertain 18th-century English male artists