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Arthur William Devis - Portrait of a Lieutenant of the 14th Buckinghamshire Regiment of Foot

Portrait of a Lieutenant of the 14th Buckinghamshire Regiment of Foot

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
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License: All public domain files can be freely used for personal and commercial projects.
Why is this image in the public domain?
The Artist died in 1822 so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries where the copyright term is the Artist's life plus 70 years or fewer.
Arthur William Devis

Arthur William Devis was an English painter of history paintings and portraits. He painted portraits and historical subjects, sixty-five of which he exhibited (1779–1821) at the Royal Academy. Among his more famous works are a depiction of the Death of Nelson and a posthumous portrait of Nelson.

Devis was born in London, the nineteenth child of the artist Arthur Devis and his wife Elizabeth Faulkner. Devis was the younger brother of the painter Thomas Anthony Devis (1757–1810) and of the schoolmistress and grammarian Ellin Devis (1746–1820), teacher, among others, of author of Maria Edgeworth and Frances Burney (later novelist Madame d'Arblay).

He followed his elder brother Thomas Anthony in becoming a pupil at the Royal Academy Schools in 1774 and like his brother exhibited at the Free Society of Artists, of which in 1768 their father had become president, and at the Royal Academy. Early on he came to the notice of Sir Joshua Reynolds.

He was appointed draughtsman on the British East India Company's packet Antelope in a voyage in 1783, under Captain Henry Wilson. In her he was injured in an encounter with Papuans near the Schouten Islands and was then wrecked on the Pelew Islands before proceeding to Canton and thence to Bengal. During his voyages, the artist received arrow wounds, one of which inflicted permanent injury on his lower jaw. During his time in Bengal, he painted a portrait of Sir William Jones, at the time a judge in Fort William. The painting now hangs at the British Library.

He was back in London by 1795 and is recorded on 21 July 1797 as living at 27 George Street, Hanover Square, where he was insured by the Sun Assurance Office.

He is noted for his involvement in the creation of the posthumous cult of Horatio Nelson. As she returned from Trafalgar, Devis went out to meet HMS Victory and was present on board the ship during the autopsy of Nelson's body conducted by Dr Beatty, the ship's surgeon. With the help of sketches he took at that time, he painted a heroic Death of Nelson, which proved a sensation.

Devis also painted Dr Beatty, and was commissioned by him to produce a half-length painting of Nelson as vice-admiral, which he lent to Emma Hamilton (who later lost it in an accident whilst travelling). Either the original or a copy of this portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy two years after the Battle and many copies were made of it. Lord Howe owned one, and another ended up in the collection of the National Maritime Museum. It also appeared as an engraving in Beatty's published account of Nelson's death.

Other work includes a portrait of King George III on horseback, and a range of portraits of admirals and generals, along with historical subjects, such as the Babington Plot and the signing of the Magna Carta. Better known is perhaps his Master Simpson (1780), a portrait of a small boy, James Alexander Simpson, carrying a dog which has often been copied, imitated and exploited commercially. Despite some success in life, Devis seems often to have had financial difficulties, including imprisonment for debt.

By the will of his brother Thomas Anthony Devis, who died in London in 1810, he inherited all Anthony's printed books and prints.

Devis himself died in London, at Caroline Street, Bedford Square, of apoplexy in 1822 and was buried in St Giles' churchyard.

More Artworks by Arthur William Devis (View all 17 Artworks)

Mr. And Mrs. Fraser

Mr. And Mrs. Fraser

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Indian Potter

Indian Potter

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
James Duff

James Duff (1800-1810)

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Sir Robert Chambers

Sir Robert Chambers (ca. 1789)

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Grinding Corn

Grinding Corn

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Portrait of Miss Hetty Goldsmid (1798-1816)

Portrait of Miss Hetty Goldsmid (1798-1816)

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Frances, Lady Chambers (née Wilton)

Frances, Lady Chambers (née Wilton) (ca. 1789)

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Portrait of the children of Benjamin Goldsmid, with a pony and a dog in a landscape

Portrait of the children of Benjamin Goldsmid, with a pony and a dog in a landscape (1800)

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
The Hon. William Monson and His Wife, Ann Debonnaire

The Hon. William Monson and His Wife, Ann Debonnaire (circa 1786)

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Portrait of Miss Ann Goldsmid (1782-1811)

Portrait of Miss Ann Goldsmid (1782-1811)

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Native Women from Bengal

Native Women from Bengal

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Emily And George Mason

Emily And George Mason

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Portrait Of A Gentleman, Possibly William Hickey, And An Indian Servant

Portrait Of A Gentleman, Possibly William Hickey, And An Indian Servant

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Portrait of James Cockburn of Langton

Portrait of James Cockburn of Langton

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
Sir Alexander Allan

Sir Alexander Allan (18th or early 19th century)

Arthur William Devis (English, 1762–1822)
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