Sir William Beechey

Inscriptionback to top

Inscribed lower left: W. Evans 1809 WB 1799 AE 46.

This portraitback to top

This is a drawing made by Evans for Cooper's stipple. Beechey's original, without the Review picture, signed and dated with initials WB 1794 is in the private collection of a descendant. Another version, signed and dated 1799 on the back of the canvas, was offered to the NPG in 1932 by another descendant of Mrs P. E. Baker who had inherited it from the artist's granddaughter (Barbizon House in 1933). A third version, with the Review picture, signed and dated on the back WB 1799 AE^S 46 was used by Evans for the stipple engraving and mentioned in W. Roberts, Sir William Beechey R.A., 1907, p 188. This is possibly the version now in the Detroit Institute of Arts (53.369). The easel painting is 'George III at a Review' painted for George III in 1797-8 and now in Windsor Castle (Sir Oliver Millar, The Later Georgian Pictures in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen, 1969, 660 and plate 161).

Physical descriptionback to top

Head and shoulders to right beside his painting of 'George III at a Review' on an easel.

Provenanceback to top

Mrs M. F. Warner sale at Sotheby's 2 June 1943 (11) bought by Arthur Spencer (Siddons Gallery) from whom bought by the NPG 24 June 1943.

Reproductionsback to top

Stipple 'From an original Picture by himself in his own Possession. Drawn by W. EVANS, engraved by R. COOPER. Published June 11 1814 by T. Cadell and W. Davies, Strand, London' (Contemporary Portraits, 1822, I, 15).


This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.

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