Richard Brydges Beechey
Richard Brydges Beechey (born May 17, 1808 in London , England , † March 14, 1895 in Southsea , Hampshire , England) was an Anglo- Irish painter and admiral in the Royal Navy .
Life
Beechey was the son of the English court and portrait painter Henry William Beechy , his mother was a miniature painter who made exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts . At the age of 13, he entered the Royal Naval College , Portsmouth , in 1821 . His first commands took him to the West Indies on board the HMS Seringapatam . His artistic training was encouraged by his father, but his training at the Navy in drawing and watercolors (to perfect the representations when mapping) contributed significantly to his skills. In 1825 Beechey sailed around the Pacific for three years on board the HMS Blossom , which was under the command of his older brother Frederick William Beechey . Purpose of the trip was to John Franklin , the north coast of Alaska from the mouth of the Mackenzie River explored coming with boats, and William Parry , who attempted the Northwest Passage with HMS Hecla and HMS Fury to ride in Chamisso Iceland in Kotzebue Sound to expect. When neither Parry nor Franklin arrived, the Blossom drove to meet them as far as Icy Cape . Although there was no meeting here either, the expedition was a great success due to its yield of botanical and other knowledge.
From 1835 until his active retirement, Beechey was busy mapping the western and southern coasts of Ireland for the Royal Navy. In 1844 he married Friedeswide Maria Moore Smyth (1819-1885) of Portlick Castle , Athlone , County Westmeath , Ireland. The couple subsequently had three daughters and one son. After his retirement from active service in 1864, the Royal Navy promoted him as captain twice within the ranks of admirals, most recently in 1885 to admiral .
Towards the end of his life, Beechy retired to Plymouth in the south of England. After the death of his first wife, he married Frances Stewart in 1888, whose father was Stewart of Trinity College in Dublin , Ireland.
Other well-known names among Beechey's siblings were the portrait painter and Egyptologist Henry William Beechey (1788-1862) and the portrait painter George Duncan Beechey (1798-1852) and the clergyman Saint Vincent Beechey (1806-1899).
Works (selection)
From 1858 Beechey exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy in London, as well as at the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom and the Royal Society of British Artists . He showed his sea pictures and ship paintings for years at the Royal Hibernian Academy , of which he became an honorary member in 1868.
His works are shown in the following museums, among others:
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National Maritime Museum , Greenwich, London:
- HMS Erebus Passing through the Chain of Bergs , 1842, oil on canvas, 78.8 cm × 111.8 cm
- First come, first served. A Pilot Cutter Racing to a Ship , 1873, oil on canvas, 92.5 cm × 138.5 cm
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New Zealand National Maritime Museum , Auckland , New Zealand
- HMS Orpheus , 1863, oil on canvas
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National Maritime Museum of Ireland , Dún Laoghaire , Ireland
- Kingstown Harbor , oil on canvas
Other well-known paintings are:
- HMS Asia Taking in the Sails , oil on canvas, 76.2 cm × 64.1 cm, private collection.
- The Battle of Cape St. Vincent ( 1797 ), which Beechey painted on canvas in 1881.
- Lighthouses at Eddystone (The Eddystone Lighthouses ). The painting from 1882 shows the old tower and the new lighthouse that was put into operation in the same year.
Individual evidence
- ↑ AF Kashevarov's coastal explorations in Northwest Alaska, 1838 (= Fieldiana Anthropology 69, No. 1), Field Museum of Natural History, 1977, p. 8 (English)
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Beechey, Richard Brydges |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Anglo-Irish painter and admiral in the Royal Navy |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 17, 1808 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 14, 1895 |
| Place of death | Southsea , Hampshire , England |