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Portrait of Sir Francis Bourgeois RA (1756-1811)
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Sir William Beechey (1753 - 1839)
Portrait of Sir Francis Bourgeois RA (1756-1811)
c.1810
Oil on canvas
Height: 74cm, sight size
Width: 63cm, sight size
Width: 63cm, sight size
Museum number: P144
Provenance
We know this picture was in Soane's collection by 1826-27 when Britton's account of the Museum was prepared. It seems likely that it was acquired by Soane at around the time he was designing the Dulwich Picture Gallery with which Bourgeois was so closely associated, in 1811-12. There are four versions of this portrait, Dulwich Picture Gallery DPG17 probably being that exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1813 (no. 221); Soane's title for the work was 'Portrait of Sir F. Bourgeois' rather than 'Portrait of the late Sir F. Bourgeois' as the version exhibited in 1813 was titled; since he knew Bourgeois, this may be an indication that this version was painted from life, in which case it could date to the 1810s. Bourgeois died on 8 January 1811.
Literature
Britton, Union, pp. 53 and 56
Soane, Description, 1830, p.15 and 35
Soane, Description, 1835, p. 20
New Description, 2007, p.30
Soane, Description, 1830, p.15 and 35
Soane, Description, 1835, p. 20
New Description, 2007, p.30
Exhibition history
Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1813
If you have any further information about this object, please contact us: worksofart@soane.org.uk