JOHN RAPHAEL SMITH (ENGLISH, 1751-1812)

JOHN RAPHAEL SMITH (ENGLISH, 1751-1812)Portrait of Walter Fawkes sitting in his study at Farnley Hall, YorkshireOil on canvas26 x 19 inches (66 x 48 cm.)John Raphael Smith (1751-1812) was a portrait and genre painter, working with oil paint and pastel. He also enjoyed considerable fame as a mezzotint engraver and was appointed Engraver to The Prince of Wales, later King George IV(1762-1830). He exhibited works at The Royal Academy from 1779 to 1790. Examples of his works can be seen at The National Portrait Gallery, London. The Ferens Gallery, Hull and The Usher Art Gallery, Lincoln. A version of this portrait, in pastel, is recorded as being in a private collection (see The Art of J.M.W.Turner by David Blayney Brown, pg. 125).Walter Fawkes (1769-1825) was a Yorkshire landowner, with an estate, Farnley Hall, near Otley. He was MP for The County of York from 1806 to 1807. He was a writer and patron of the arts. He is best remembered for his friendship with J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851). He was his most important patron and probably his closest friend. Turner visited Farnley Hall on many occasions, sometimes staying for months at a time. At one time the collection of TurnerÍs work, in oil and watercolour, numbered over two hundred pictures. Over the years many of these have pictures have been sold from the collection. These can be seen today in many of the important art galleries of England and America. After the death of Walter Fawkes in 1825, Turner never returned to Farnley Hall.