Robert Smirke (painter)

Robert Smirke, engraving by Charles Picart after a picture of his daughter Mary Smirke. (1814)

Scene from Samuel Foote's play "Taste"

Robert Smirke RA (born April 15, 1753 in Wigton near Carlisle , Great Britain , † January 5, 1845 in London ) was a British painter .

life and work

Robert Smirke was born the son of an eccentric traveling artist. When his father moved in 1766, he came to London, where he began to work for a painter named Bromley and began studying at the Royal Academy of Arts on November 30, 1772 . In 1775 he was inducted into the Society of Artists, and in 1791 elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts. His nomination as Academy Keeper to succeed Joseph Wilton was by George III. rejected in favor of Johann Heinrich Füssli because of his too revolutionary opinions .

Many of Smirkes' pictures are in relatively small formats and designed in monochrome, which made it easier to create copperplate engravings . A number of well-known galleries own works by Smirkes, including the Tate Gallery , the Guildhall Art Gallery, and the Courtauld Institute of Art .

Smirke had four sons and at least one daughter. His first-born Richard was born in 1778, his daughter Mary Smirke in 1779, the later well-known architect Robert in 1780 , Edward in 1795 and Sydney in 1798, who later also became an architect. His grave is in Kensal Green Cemetery , London.

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personal data
SURNAME	Smirke, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British painter
DATE OF BIRTH	April 15, 1753
PLACE OF BIRTH	Wigton
DATE OF DEATH	January 5, 1845
Place of death	London