Sir Joshua Reynolds was an English painter who specialised in portraits. Art critic John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting, which depended on idealisation of the imperfect. He was a founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts and was knighted by George III in 1769.
Sir Thomas Lawrence 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 the Bear Hotel in the Market Square. At age ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his pastel portraits. At 18, he went to London and soon established his reputation as a portrait painter in oils, receiving his first royal commission, a portrait of Queen Charlotte, in 1789. He stayed at the top of his profession until his death, aged 60, in 1830.
John Hoppner was an English portrait painter, much influenced by Reynolds, who achieved fame as a brilliant colourist.
Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, 1st Marquess of Hastings,, styled The Honourable Francis Rawdon from birth until 1762, Lord Rawdon between 1762 and 1783, The Lord Rawdon from 1783 to 1793 and The Earl of Moira between 1793 and 1816, was an Anglo-Irish politician and military officer who served as Governor-General of India from 1813 to 1823. He had also served with British forces for years during the American Revolutionary War and in 1794 during the War of the First Coalition. In Ireland, he was critical of the policy of coercion used to break the United Irish movement for representative government and national independence. He took the additional surname "Hastings" in 1790 in compliance with the will of his maternal uncle, Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon.
Sir William Beechey was a British portraitist during the golden age of British painting.
George Knapton (1698–1778) was an English portrait painter and the first portraitist for the Society of Dilettanti in the 1740s. He became Surveyor and Keeper of the King's Pictures from 1765 to 1778.
The title of Principal Painter in Ordinary to the King or Queen of England or, later, Great Britain, was awarded to a number of artists, nearly all mainly portraitists. It was different from the role of Serjeant Painter, and similar to the earlier role of "King's Painter". Other painters, for example Nicholas Hilliard had similar roles with different titles. "Principal Painter in Ordinary", first used for Sir Anthony Van Dyck, became settled as the usual title with John Riley in 1689.
Henry Mee is a British painter. He read Fine Art at the University of Leeds awarded a place by Professor Sir Lawrence Gowing, graduating in 1979.
John Ellys or Ellis was an English portrait-painter.
John Rolle Walter was Tory MP for Exeter in 1754–1776 and for Devon in 1776–1779. He held the honorary position of Town Recorder of Great Torrington in 1739–1779, due to his family's long-standing importance as the major local landowner.
William Owen was an English portrait painter known for his portraits of society figures such as Pitt the Younger and George, Prince of Wales.
Portrait of Lord Liverpool is a work by the English artist Thomas Lawrence depicting the British politician and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool.
George III is an 1809 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence depicting the British monarch George III. It is an oil painting on canvas depicting the King in his robes for the State Opening of Parliament. It was commissioned by George as a gift for the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Henry Addington. George had reigned since 1760, but he was troubled by occasional bouts of mental instability. In 1810, shortly after celebrating the Golden Jubilee on the throne, George was overcome by a more lasting loss of control and his eldest son George was declared Prince Regent. The image by Lawrence continued to be used to represent the King throughout the remainder of his reign.
The Marquess of Wellesley is a portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Lawrence of the Irish statesman Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley. Wellesley was a senior politician in Britain where he served as Foreign Secretary from 1809 to 1812 and was regarded as a potential future Prime Minister. Lawrence was the leading portraitist of the Regency era, depicting prominent figures from Britain and it's European Allies during the Napoleonic Wars. It is also known as the Portrait of Lord Wellesley.
Portrait of the Marquess of Rockingham is a c. 1768 portrait painting of the British politician Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, who twice served as prime minister. It is a scaled-down version of a work by Joshua Reynolds. A wealthy landowner and leader of the Rockingham Whigs, he first became prime minister in 1765 after replacing George Grenville. Leaving office the following year he remained in opposition until 1782 when he returned to the premiership in the final year of the American War of Independence. His second spell was short-lived as he died just months after taking office.
The Reform Banquet is a history painting by the English artist Benjamin Robert Haydon. Completed and first exhibited in 1834 it represents a scene on 11 July 1832 when supporters of the recent Reform Act including the Prime Minister Earl Grey and other government ministers met for a celebratory dinner at the Guildhall in the City of London. Comparisons have been drawn between this work and George Hayter's The House of Commons, 1833 which were both large-scale depictions related to the recent Reform Act.
Coronation Portrait of George III is a portrait painting of 1762 by the Scottish artist Allan Ramsay depicting the British monarch George III in his coronation robes. George's coronation had taken place on 22 September 1761 at Westminster Abbey, where he was crowned alongside his wife Queen Charlotte. The new king had inherited the crown from his grandfather George II in 1760 at the age of 22.
Portrait of Lord Beresford is an 1815 portrait painting by the English artist William Beechey of the British general William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford.
Portrait of the Duke of York is a 1764 portrait painting by the Italian artist Pompeo Batoni depicting Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany. York was the younger brother of George III and had been heir presumptive to the throne from 1760 until the birth of his nephew George, Prince of Wales in 1762. From 1763 to 1764 following the end of the Seven Years' War, York went on a Grand Tour around Continental Europe. While in Rome he sat for Batoni, a leading portraitist who specialised in painting visiting Britons. York is shown in the uniform of a Flag officer of the Royal Navy and the Order of the Garter, with the Colosseum visible behind him.
Portrait of Admiral Rodney or Admiral Rodney at the Battle of the Saintes is a 1783 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Gainsborough featuring the British admiral George Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney. It depicts his April 1782 victory at the Battle of the Saintes in the Caribbean Sea during the American War of Independence. Rodney led the Royal Navy to a decisive victory over the French fleet commanded by the Comte de Grasse by "breaking the line". Rodney is shown on the deck of the de Grasse's captured flagship Ville de Paris with the ship's Fleur-de-lis ensign behind him, as smoke from the battle swirls in the background. In 1788 the artist's nephew Gainsborough Dupont produced a mezzotint based on the picture.
