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William (Thomas) Beckford

(1760-1844), Writer, collector and eccentric dilettante

Mid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue Entry

Sitter in 2 portraits
Novelist, collector and patron of the arts, the eccentric William Beckford was the son of a famous Lord Mayor of London and heir to a West Indian slave trade fortune. Aside from being one of the richest men in England, Beckford was best known for his Oriental-Gothic horror novel Vathek, which he wrote aged 22, and for his extravagant Gothic-style residence Fonthill Abbey, with its 300 foot tower, which he built on his estate near Salisbury.

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William (Thomas) Beckford, by Sir Joshua Reynolds - NPG 5340

William (Thomas) Beckford

by Sir Joshua Reynolds
oil on canvas, 1782
On display in Room 12 at the National Portrait Gallery
NPG 5340

William (Thomas) Beckford, by Frederick Bromley, published by Henry Graves & Co, after Sir Joshua Reynolds - NPG D691

William (Thomas) Beckford

by Frederick Bromley, published by Henry Graves & Co, after Sir Joshua Reynolds
mezzotint, published 1862 (1782)
NPG D691

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