William Beechey

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 Prince of Wales 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. 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==

'' at Kensington Palace, 1821 During a prolific career spanning half a century, Beechey painted many of the leading figures of his day. His sitters included: 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 Phyllis Jessop (1764–1833) in 1793. 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). File:Miss Harriet Beechey.jpg|Miss Harriet Beechey,by William Beechey, c. 1800 File:Anne Phyllis Beechey nee Jessop.jpg|Anne Jessop, Lady Beechey, by William Beechey, c. 1800 ==Prices at auction==

Beechey's Portrait of James Watt sold for £153,440 at Sotheby's on 20 March 2003. 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. 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. His portrait of The Dashwood Children sold at auction for $821,000 including premium at Christie's on 29 January 2014. ==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|Portrait of 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:Portrait de Pascal Paoli - William BEECHEY.jpg|Pasquale Paoli, 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:William Beechey (1753-1839) - Alderman John Boydell (1720–1804), Publisher - 82 - Guildhall Art Gallery.jpg|Portrait of John Boydell, 1801 File:Portrait of Horatio Nelson.webp|Portrait of Horatio Nelson, 1801 File:James Watt (1736–1819).jpg|James Watt (1736–1819), 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:Joseph Nollekens, by William Beechey.jpg|Portrait of Joseph Nollekens, 1812 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: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. {{Infobox COA wide ==References==