George Romney
Who was George Romney?
English painter (1734-1802)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on George Romney (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
George Romney was born on December 26, 1734, in Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire, England, to John Romney, a cabinetmaker and builder. He showed talent for drawing early on and became an apprentice in 1755 to a traveling portrait painter named Christopher Steele, who taught him the basics of portrait painting. In 1762, Romney left his wife Mary Abbot and their children in northern England to move to London for his career, a separation that lasted nearly three decades. This career-driven choice significantly impacted his personal reputation and felt complicated throughout his life.
In London, Romney became a popular portrait artist, eventually rivaling the well-known Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. His paintings were marked by elegant composition, refined color, and sensitivity to his subjects' character. In 1773, he traveled to Italy and spent almost two years in Rome, studying classical and Renaissance art. This trip expanded his goals beyond portrait painting to include grand historical and mythological themes, though portraits remained his main business.
A key part of Romney's career started in 1782, when he met Emma Hart, who would become Lady Hamilton and the mistress of Admiral Lord Nelson. He was captivated by her beauty and painted her in many different roles and poses, such as classical goddesses and historical characters. These portraits of Emma Hamilton are some of the most famous works of the late 1700s and helped cement Romney's legacy.
Among his significant commissions was a portrait of Wilson Gale-Braddyll, one of many pieces Romney created for Britain's gentry and aristocracy during his peak. His studio on Cavendish Square was extremely busy in the 1770s and 1780s, with appointments booked months ahead by notable society figures. Despite his success, Romney longed to create large historical paintings like the Old Masters, a dream mostly unfulfilled due to his busy portrait schedule.
In his later years, Romney's health and mental state declined. He left London in 1798 and returned to Kendal, where his estranged wife Mary Abbot took care of him until he died on November 15, 1802, at 67. He left behind an extensive collection of portraits that captured Georgian England's people with skill and grace.
Before Fame
George Romney grew up in the rural north of England, in a small town called Dalton-in-Furness in Lancashire. This area was far from the artistic centers of London or Europe. His father worked in cabinetmaking and building. Romney showed an early interest in drawing and learned through hands-on apprenticeship instead of formal school. In 1755, at twenty years old, he began working with Christopher Steele, a portrait painter who traveled through the northern counties doing commissions. This gave Romney the basic skills needed for portrait painting.
By the late 1750s, Romney had set up a modest independent practice in Kendal, and he married Mary Abbot in 1756. In 1763, he won a competition organized by the Society of Arts in London. This gave him prize money and the confidence to move permanently to the capital. Moving to London was a key step from being a small-town craftsman to becoming a professional artist, and within ten years, he became one of the most sought-after portrait painters in Britain.
Key Achievements
- Became one of the three most fashionable portrait painters in Georgian England, alongside Reynolds and Gainsborough
- Produced an extensive series of portraits of Emma Hamilton that rank among the most celebrated images of the eighteenth century
- Completed the portrait of Wilson Gale-Braddyll, exemplifying his mastery of aristocratic portraiture
- Won the Society of Arts prize in 1763, which launched his career in London
- Maintained one of the busiest portrait studios in London through the 1770s and 1780s, with a client list drawn from the highest levels of British society
Did You Know?
- 01.Romney painted Emma Hamilton in over sixty known works, depicting her as figures ranging from Circe and Cassandra to a bacchante and the Spinstress, making her the most frequently painted woman in his career.
- 02.Despite his fame in London, Romney never became a member of the Royal Academy, partly due to his rivalry with its president Sir Joshua Reynolds and his reluctance to engage with the institution's politics.
- 03.Romney left his wife Mary Abbot in Kendal shortly after the birth of their second child and did not return to live with her for nearly thirty-seven years, yet she cared for him devotedly in his final years of illness.
- 04.During his time in Rome between 1773 and 1775, Romney befriended the historian Edward Gibbon and the sculptor John Flaxman, forming connections that influenced his aspirations toward grand classical subjects.
- 05.Romney's father taught him woodcarving and cabinetmaking before he pursued painting, skills that gave him an understanding of three-dimensional form that some critics believe informed the sculptural quality of his figure compositions.
Family & Personal Life
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