Sir William Beechey (12 December 175328 January 1839) was a British portraitist during the golden age of British painting.[[1], Le Louvre, Retrieved 25 September 2018]
Early life
Beechey was born at
Burford, 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.
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 uncle's soul to cross/ And paint a picture where he should engross".
Career
Beechey was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools 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 John Wodehouse and a series of civic portraits for St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich. 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). Beechey's career during this period is marked by a succession of adept and restrained portraits in the tradition of
Joshua Reynolds.
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 for that year's academy's exhibition. This enormous composition depicts King George III, the George IV and staff officers on horseback at an imagined cavalry review in Hyde Park. 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.
Royal patronage resumed in around 1813, when Beechey was appointed portrait painter to Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh, and culminated with his appointment in 1830 as principal portrait painter to William IV. In 1830, he stood for election as President of the Royal Academy following the death of Thomas Lawrence, finishing second to Martin Archer Shee.[Hermann p.30] In 1836, Beechey retired to Hampstead 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.
Subjects
During a prolific career spanning half a century, Beechey painted many of the leading figures of his day. His sitters included:
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George III
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George IV
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William IV
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Princess, later Queen Victoria
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Prince Ernest, later King of Hanover
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Queen Charlotte
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Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge
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Prince William Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
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Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
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Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
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Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh
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Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, prime minister
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Spencer Perceval, prime pinister
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Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, prime minister
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Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, foreign secretary
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Warren Hastings, governor-general of India
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James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury, statesman
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Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, field marshal
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Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, admiral
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John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, admiral
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Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, general
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George Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu
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George Douglas, 16th Earl of Morton
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John Wodehouse, 1st Baron Wodehouse
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Sarah Siddons, actress
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John Philip Kemble, actor
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Sir David Wilkie, artist
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Paul Sandby, artist
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John Carr, architect
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Edward Hodges Baily, sculptor
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Joseph Nollekens, sculptor
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James Watt, inventor
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Sir Everard Home, Bt, surgeon
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Sir James Earle, surgeon
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Thomas Coutts, banker
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Martineau family, surgeon and Lord of the Manor of Carrow
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Edward Maltby, Bishop of Durham
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John Douglas, Bishop of Salisbury
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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 uniform wearing the insignia of the Order of the Bath, 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 (1788–1862).
Following his first wife's death, Beechey married the successful miniature painter Anne Beechey (1764–1833) in 1793.[John Wilson, "Beechey, Sir William (1753–1839)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2006 Retrieved 2 May 2017] They had many children together, including: Royal Navy captain, geographer, and politician Frederick William Beechey (1796–1856); painter George Duncan Beechey (1798–1852); clergyman St. Vincent Beechey (1806–1899); and painter and admiral in the British navy Richard Brydges Beechey (1808–1895).
Prices at auction
Beechey's
Portrait of James Watt sold for £153,440 at Sotheby's on 20 March 2003.
[[3], Christie's, Retrieved 25 September 2018] 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.
[[4], Christie's, Retrieved 25 September 2018] 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.
[[5], Christie's, Retrieved 25 September 2018] His portrait of
The Dashwood Children sold at auction for $821,000 including premium at Christie's on 29 January 2014.
[[6], Christie's, Retrieved 25 September 2018]
Gallery
Beechey's works are represented in many of the world's leading collections, including the
Louvre, the Smithsonian Institution, the
Royal Collection, the Royal Academy of Arts, the National Portrait Gallery, London, the
Tate and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
File:Edward Miles (1752–1828) MET DP169387.jpg| Edward Miles, 1785
File:John Wodehouse MP Norfolk (1741-1834) by William Beechey.jpg| Sir John Wodehouse, 1785
File:Portrait of Mrs Dorothy Jordan (1761–1816) as Rosalind in Shakespeare's ‘As You Like It’.jpg| Dorothea Jordan as Rosalind, 1787
File:Rear-Admiral Sir John Jervis, 1735-1823, Earl of St Vincent RMG BHC3001.tiff| Admiral Jervis, 1787
File:The Dashwood children.jpg| The Dashwood Children, c. 1789
File:Paul Sandby RA, ca. 1789.jpg| Paul Sandby, 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:John Carr by Sir William Beechey.jpg| John Carr, 1791
File:William Beechey (1753-1839) - Sarah Siddons, née Kemble ('Mrs Siddons with the Emblems of Tragedy') - NPG 5159 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg| Sarah Siddons with the Emblems of Tragedy, 1793
File:William Beechey - Portrait of Sir Francis Ford’s Children Giving a Coin to a Beggar Boy.jpg| Sir Francis Ford's Children Giving a Coin to a Beggar Boy, 1793
File:William Beechey.jpg| King George III Reviewing the Prince of Wales' Regiment of Light Dragoons, Attended by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York and Other General Officers (c.1794), Oil on canvas, 46 5/16 x 56 3/16 in. (117.6 x 142.7 cm), Clark Art Institute
File:William Beechey (1753-1839) - Thomas Law Hodges - N04688 - National Gallery.jpg| Thomas Law Hodges, 1795
File:Sir William Beechey - Master James Hatch (1796).jpg| Master James Hatch, 1796
File:Beechey - Queen Charlotte.jpg| Portrait of Queen Charlotte, 1796
File:Princess Amelia (1783-1810).jpg| Princess Amelia, 1797
File:Frederica, Duchess of York (1767-1820).jpg| Frederica, Duchess of York, 1797
File:Prince of Wales (later George IV), ca. 1798.jpg| Portrait of George, 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| Portrait of Thomas Hope, 1798
File:Beechey, Sir William - John Philip Kemble - Google Art Project.jpg| Portrait of John Philip Kemble, 1799
File:Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson by Sir William Beechey.jpg| Sketch for portrait of Horatio, 1800
File:Portrait of King George III of the United Kingdom (1738-1820), by Sir William Beechey (1753-1839) - Royal Collection (RCIN 405422).jpg| Portrait of George III, 1800
File:Elizabeth Charlotte Eden, Lady Godolphin (1780-1847), by William Beechey.jpg| Elizabeth Eden, Lady Godolphin (1780–1847), c. 1800
File:Portrait of Horatio Nelson.webp| Portrait of Horatio Nelson, 1801
File:James Watt (1736–1819).jpg| James Watt, c. 1802
File:Princess Augusta, c.1802.jpg| Princess Augusta Sophia, c. 1802
File:George Rose by Sir William Beechey.jpg| George Rose, 1802
File:Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth.jpg| Portrait of Henry Addington, 1803
File:Mrs Symonds and Her Children.png| Mrs Symonds and Her Children, 1803
File:Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester - Beechey 1803-5.jpg| Princess Sophia of Gloucester, c.1803
File:Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave by Sir William Beechey.jpg| Lord Mulgrave, 1807
File:Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge, KG (1774-1850).jpg| Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, 1808
File:Sir Henry Halford, 1st Bt by Sir William Beechey.jpg| Henry Halford, 1809
File:Portrait of Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth (1748–1817), by William Beechey.jpg|John Duckworth, 1809
File:Sir William Beechey - Sir David Wilkie, 1785 - 1841. Artist - PG 251 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg| David Wilkie, c.1809
File:Mirza Abu'l Hassan Khan by William Henry Beechey.jpg| Mirza Abu'l Hassan Khan, 1809–10
File:Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois by Sir William Beechey.jpg| Portrait of Francis Bourgeois, 1810
File:Harriot (Mellon), Duchess of St Albans by Sir William Beechey.jpg| Portrait of Harriet Mellon, 1815
File:William Carr Beresford, Viscount Beresford by Sir William Beechey (2).jpg| Portrait of Lord Beresford, c. 1815
File:Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton A17581.jpg| Portrait of Thomas Picton, c. 1815
File:William Beechey (1753-1839) - Admiral Edward Pellew (1757–1833), 1st Viscount Exmouth - F301 - British Library.jpg| Lord Exmouth During the Bombardment of Algiers, 1817
File:Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge - Beechey 1818.jpg| Portrait of Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge, 1818
File:Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn by Sir William Beechey.jpg| Edward, Duke of Kent, 1818
File:Sir William Beechey - The Misses Plowden - 1953.36 - Dallas Museum of Art.jpg| The Misses Plowden, 1819
File:Vice-Admiral Sir George Cockburn, 1772-1853 RMG BHC2618.tiff| Portrait of George Cockburn, 1820
File:Joseph Nollekens, by William Beechey.jpg| Joseph Nollekens, 1822
File:Portrait-robert-grant-beechey.jpg| Robert Grant, 1823
File:Beechey - Portrait of Joseph Stannard (1797-1830).jpg| Joseph Stannard, 1824
File:Portrait of Thomas Lowndes.png| Portrait of Thomas Lowndes, 1824
File:William Beechey - Miss Windham - 1976-25 - Auckland Art Gallery.jpg| Miss Windham, 1828
File:WilliamIVbyBeechey 2.jpg| Portrait of William IV, c.1830
File:Beechey, William - Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen - NPG 1533.jpg| Queen Adelaide, c. 1831
Coat of arms
Beechey was granted arms on 16 February 1829.
Sources
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Hermann, Like. Nineteenth Century British Painting. Charles de la Mare, 2000.
External links
