Mather Brown
(1761 - 1831) |
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Portraiture, Secular Narratives, English Historical Narratives Art Work
| Name: |
Mather Brown |
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| Place of Birth: |
Boston, Massachusetts |
| Nationality: |
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| Birth: |
1761 |
| Death: |
1831 |
| Website: |
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| Past Auctions: |
Click Here |
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Quick Facts
| Known For: |
Portraiture, Secular Narratives, English Historical Narratives |
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| Method: |
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| Style: |
Formal realism |
| Fine Art Profession(s): |
Painter
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Biography
| Portrait and history painter of American origin and very uneven quality. Born Boston 7 October 1761; died Twickenham 25 May 1831. He had some instruction from Gilbert Stuart before 1775 and practised in Massachusetts before settling in England in 1781, where he became a pupil of Benjamin West {q.v.) and entered RA Schools 1782. He at first had a fair practice with sitters with American connections. In his best period, c. 1785-95, he achieved a powerful likeness with strong shadows, for example his 'Earl of Rossiyn', engr. 1793 (SNPG). Such portraits were based on careful drawings [Burlington Mag., CXIV (Aug. 1972), 534-541). At this time he acquired the honorific titles of Portrait Painter to the Duke of York (1789) and to the Duke of Clarence (1791), and he also painted 'George III' (long in Roxy Theater, New York). Of his numerous large histories the least deplorable is 'The sons of Tipoo delivered as hostages to Lord Cornwallis', 1793 (Oriental Club, London). After 1800 his success and his quality alike declined. For a time in the early 1820s he worked at Manchester, but he lived mainly in London, turning out masses of inferior paintings. |
Samples of Work
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