Richard Parkes Bonnington 1802 - 1828

Poor Richard. Died aged just 25 from TB, with the first 16 years of his life spent in Arnold, Notts. Luckily, after moving to Paris in 1818 (where Dad used Nottingham-know-how to set up a lace factory) Richard discovered Travel and went off to see, and paint, the sights of Europe.

If you know anything about nineteenth century French art history then you'll be impressed by the impressiveness of Richard's tutors, peers and pals. I know very little about this, so I'm assuming Wikipedia has got this right. The National Gallery - which definately knows - says:

Bonington was one of the most important artists of the early nineteenth century, vital to the understanding of French and British art of the Romantic period. His range included history and subject paintings, and landscapes, highly-finished works and sketches, all imbued with a brilliance and sureness of touch which was greatly admired both during and after his lifetime.

So there! Arnold boy made good.


Where did this information come from? The National Gallery and the great BBC website 'Your paintings'