Henry William BEECHEY
 (Burford, 1753 – Hampstead, 1839)

 Portrait of a man in bust
 Oil on canvas
 76.5 x 64 cm

 Origin :
 Former GRANDPIERRE collection
 Former collection of Princess of FAUCIGNY-LUSINGE
 Sale in Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Ader Picard Tajan, June 16, 1987, n°14
 Sale in Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Etude Couturier-Nicolay, June 10, 1988, n°61

 BEECHEY was born at Burford, Oxfordshire, on 12 December 1753, the son of William BEECHEY, a lawyer, and his wife Hannah READ. Both parents died when he was very young, so he and his siblings were brought up by his uncle, a lawyer, who lived in nearby Chipping Norton.

 Predestined for a career as a lawyer, BEECHEY nevertheless entered the Royal Academy in 1772, where he studied under Johann Joseph ZOFFANY (1733-1810). He exhibited for the first time at the Academy in 1776 and would do so regularly until his death. In 1782, he settled in Norwich, where he received several commissions from the aristocracy and local celebrities. In 1787, BEECHEY returned to London. His portraits at this time are in the tradition of Sir Joshua REYNOLDS (1723-1792), whose studio he probably frequented.
 In 1793, he was appointed portrait painter to Queen Charlotte, whose portrait he had just completed, and an associate member of the Royal Academy. He was made a full member in 1798 and knighted the same year, after having completed his masterpiece: Cavalry Review, representing King George III, the Prince of Wales and Prince Frederick with their staff. This large painting was unfortunately destroyed in the fire at Windsor Castle in 1992. His portraits, full of sensitivity and sometimes marked by romanticism, quickly earned him a considerable reputation. We owe to BEECHEY a good part of the portraits of members of the royal family and of almost all the celebrities of his time such as Lord Nelson, Pascal PAOLI or even the stage actors of the time John KEMBLE and Sarah SIDDONS.

 In 1804, BEECHEY fell from grace, probably because of the health of King George III. BEECHEY's portraits from this early century are considered today to be his most colourful and lively. They are closer to the flamboyant and free techniques used by his younger colleagues, John HOPPNER and Sir Thomas LAWRENCE.

 Royal patronage resumed around 1813 when BEECHEY was appointed portrait painter to Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester, and his appointment was confirmed in 1830 as portrait painter to King William IV.

 After selling the contents of his studio and collection at Christie's on June 9 and 11, 1836, the artist retired to the London district of Hampstead where he died almost three years later on January 28, 1839.

 William BEECHEY had eighteen children from two marriages, several of whom were famous in their time: an Egyptologist, a geographer and politician, a painter and admiral...

 In 1907 W. ROBERTS published a monograph entitled Sir William Beechey, RA, including the order book and catalogue of his works exhibited during his lifetime.

 Museums : Cardiff, Hanover, London (Nat. Gal., Tate, Dulwich College Gal.), Melbourne, Salford, Paris (Louvre), New York (Met. Mus. of Art)…