Ozias Humphry | |
|---|---|
 portrait by Gilbert Stuart | |
| Born | 8 September 1742  |
| Died | 9 March 1810 (aged 67) |
| Occupation | Painter |
Ozias HumphryRA (8 September 1742 – 9 March 1810)[1] was an English painter who specialised inportrait painting, includingportrait miniatures. Humphry was elected to theRoyal Academy in 1791, and in 1792 he was appointedPortrait Painter in Crayons to the King (i.e. pastels).
Humphry is the spelling Ozias himself used in hissignature[2] on the backing card of his miniature ofCharlotte, Princess Royal (1769;Windsor Castle). This is also the spelling given in the catalogues of the annualexhibitions of theRoyal Academy from 1779 to 1795.[3] The different spelling in the far more common form ofHumphrey may originally well be due to a mistake but was already in use during his own lifetime. It appears thus in the Royal Academy catalogues for the years 1796 and 1797[3] as well as in the writings ofHorace Walpole andJohn Thomas Smith.[4] Humphry is the generally used spelling today.[5]
Born and schooled inHoniton,Devon, Humphry was attracted by the gallery of casts opened by theDuke of Richmond and came toLondon to study art atShipley's school. He also studied art inBath (underSamuel Collins, taking over his practice in 1762); in Bath, he lodged withThomas Linley. As a young artist, he found his talent encouraged byThomas Gainsborough and SirJoshua Reynolds, among others. His problems with his sight, which ultimately led to blindness, began in the early 1770s and forced him to paint larger works in oils and pastel.[6]
He traveled toItaly in 1773 with his great friendGeorge Romney, stopping en route atKnole, nearSevenoaks inKent, where theDuke of Dorset commissioned several works from him. His stay in Italy lasted until 1777.
On his return, his numerous subjects includedGeorge Stubbs (1777), fellow academicianDominic Serres, the chemistJoseph Priestley, and allegedly a portrait claimed to be of the teenageJane Austen, from perhaps as early as 1790 (clothing styles suggest a later date), known as the"Rice" portrait after a later owner, though this has always been a controversial attribution of the sitter.[7] This failed to reach its minimum estimate in aChristie's auction in April 2007, and was withdrawn from sale.[8] His pupils includedJohn Opie. He compiled a fifty-page manuscriptA Memoir of George Stubbs, based on what Stubbs had related to him; it is the only contemporary biography. This was edited and privately published in the 1870s and republished in 2005.[9] He also knewWilliam Blake and commissioned copies of some of his illustrated books. At least one of Blake's letters to him is a significant document for Blake's biographers.[10]
From 1785 to 1787, he travelled toIndia, producing many miniatures and sketches. He was elected a member of theRoyal Academy in 1791. In 1792 he was appointedPortrait Painter in Crayons to the King. Most of his many portraits of the Royal Family are still in the Royal Collection.[11]
His sight finally failed in 1797, and he died in 1810 inHampstead, north London.[12]
The bulk of his possessions came into the hands of hisnatural son,William Upcott, the book collector. From him theBritish Museum acquired a large number of papers relating to Humphry. He is alluded to in some lines byHayley.[12]
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![Portrait of Hyder Beg Khan (1786)[13]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aPortrait_of_Hyder_Beg_Khan%2c_the_Minister_to_the_Nawab_of_A_Wadh%2c_Asaf-Au-Daula_crop.jpg)
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Williamson, George Charles (1911). "Humphry, Ozias". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 892.