Sir Martin Archer Shee (23 December 1769 – 13 August 1850) was an Irish

portrait painter Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commissio ...

. He also served as the president of the Royal Academy.

Early life

He was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, of an old Irish Roman Catholic family, the son of Martin Shee, a merchant, who regarded the profession of a painter as an unsuitable occupation for a descendant of the Shees. His son Martin nevertheless studied art in the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) () is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. It was long active as a learned ...

and came to London. There, in 1788, he was introduced by

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

, on whose advice he studied in the schools of the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

Career

In 1789, he exhibited his first two pictures, the ''Head of an Old Man'' and ''Portrait of a Gentleman.'' Over the next ten years he steadily increased in practice. He was chosen an associate of the Royal Academy in 1798. In 1789, he married Mary, eldest daughter of James Power of

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long ...

, and in 1800 he was elected a Royal Academician. He moved to George Romney's former house at 32

Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public square, public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square ...

, and set up as his successor. In addition to his portraits he executed various subjects and historical works, such as ''Lavinia'', ''Belisarius'', his diploma picture ''Prospero and Miranda'', and the ''Daughter of Jephthah''.

Writing

Portrait of Henry Grattan -Martin Archer Shee

In 1805 he published a poem consisting of ''Rhymes on Art'', and a second part followed in 1809.

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

spoke well of it in his ''English Bards and Scotch Reviewers''. Shee published another small volume of verse in 1814, entitled ''The Commemoration of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and other Poems'', but this was less successful. He also produced a

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

, '' Alasco'', set in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The play was accepted at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, but was refused a licence, on the grounds that it contained treasonable allusions, and Shee angrily resolved to make his appeal to the public. He carried out his threat in 1824, but ''Alasco'' was still on the list of unacted dramas in 1911. He also published two novels – '' Oldcourt'' (1829, in three volumes) and ''Cecil Hyde'' (1834). On the death of Sir

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

in 1830, Shee was chosen president of the Royal Academy in his stead and shortly afterwards received a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. In 1831, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. In an examination before the parliamentary committee of 1836 concerning the functions of the Royal Academy, he ably defended its rights. He continued to paint till 1845, when illness made him retire to Brighton. He was deputised for at the Academy by

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

, who had appointed him a trustee of the projected Turner almshouse. From 1842 to 1849, he was the first president of the Birmingham Society of Artists.

Death

Shee died in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

in 1850 and was buried in the western extension to St Nicholas' Churchyard in Brighton. His headstone remains, but has been laid flat and moved to the perimeter of the site.

Personal life

Shee had three sons, who became successful barristers, and three daughters. Descendants of one of the sons was George Archer-Shee, whose story inspired ''

The Winslow Boy ''The Winslow Boy'' is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an incident involving George Archer-Shee in the Edwardian era. The incident took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne. Background Set against the strict cod ...

'', a play written by Sir

Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...

and his older half-brother, Martin Archer-Shee MP. Shee's descendant, Mary Archer-Shee, supports the campaign for the fulfilment of Turner's wishes for his bequests.

Written works by Shee (selected)

*
Elements of art, a poem; in six cantos
' (1809) *
Rhymes on Art; Or, The Remonstrance of a Painter: in Two Parts
' (1809) *
The Commemoration of Reynolds: In Two Parts
' (1814) *''Oldcourt''
Volume 1Volume 2Volume 3
(London : H. Colburn, 1829) *
Alasco: A Tragedy, in Five Acts
' (Sherwood, Jones, and co., 1824).

Gallery

File:Martin Archer Shee - John Philip Kemble - 1925.587 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg, John Philip Kemble, c.1795 File:Anne Luttrell duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn.jpg, Duchess of Cumberland, c.1795 File:Sir Martin Archer Shee portrait Anna Margaretta Larpent in a white dress with a blue sash.jpg, Anna Larpent, c.1800 File:John Henry Johnstone portrait.png, John Henry Johnstone, 1803 File:Portrait of the 6th Duke of Devonshire (Archer Shee).png, Marquess of Hartington, 1806 File:Sir Thomas Picton by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg,

Thomas Picton Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton (24 August 175818 June 1815) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. He fought in the Napoleonic Wars and died at Waterloo. According to the historian Alessandro Barbero, Picton was "respecte ...

, 1812 File:Henry Vassall Webster.jpg, Henry Vassall Webster, c.1814 File:Edward Kerrison.png, Edward Kerrison, 1814 File:Martin Archer Shee - William Roscoe - Google Art Project.jpg,

William Roscoe William Roscoe (8 March 175330 June 1831) was an English banker, lawyer, and briefly a Member of Parliament. He is best known as one of England's first abolitionists, and as the author of the poem for children '' The Butterfly's Ball, and th ...

, c.1815-17 File:Sharon Turner by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg,

Sharon Turner Sharon Turner (24 September 1768 – 13 February 1847) was an English historian. Life Turner was born in Pentonville, the eldest son of William and Ann Turner of Yorkshire, who had settled in London upon marrying. He left school at fifteen to ...

, 1817 File:Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Bt by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg, Thomas Munro, 1819 File:Jane, Lady Munro by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg, Lady Munro, 1819 File:The Painter's Son.png, '' The Painter's Son'', 1820 File:Alexander Macdonell.jpg, Alexander Macdonell, 1823 File:Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg, Lord Denman, 1832 File:Sir Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850) - Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley (1760-1842) - RCIN 404332 - Royal Collection.jpg,

Marquess Wellesley A marquess (; ) is a Nobility, nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife ...

, 1832 File:William IV in 1833 by Shee cropped.jpg, '' Portrait of William IV'', 1833 File:Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850) - John Cust (1779–1853), 1st Earl Brownlow, GCH, FRS, MP - 436206 - National Trust.jpg, Lord Brownlow, c.1835 File:Sir Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850) - Henry Paget (1768-1854), 2nd Earl of Uxbridge and 1st Marquess of Anglesey - RCIN 401453 - Royal Collection.jpg, Marquess of Anglesey, 1836 File:Shee - Queen Adelaide - Royal Collection.jpg, '' Portrait of Queen Adelaide'', 1836 File:Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Bt by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg, Sir Francis Burdett, 1843

Bibliography

* Martin Archer Shee, ''The Life of Sir Martin Archer Shee''
Volume 1Volume 2
(London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1860).

Notes

References

External links

*

(ArtCyclopedia)

(Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art)
William Archer Shee, the artist's son
(Oil on canvas, Ca. 1820 –

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

)
Portrait by Thomas Bridgford
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shee, Martin Archer 1769 births 1850 deaths Artists from County Dublin 18th-century Irish painters 18th-century Irish male artists 19th-century Irish painters Irish male painters Irish portrait painters Royal Academicians Knights Bachelor Irish emigrants to Kingdom of Great Britain 19th-century Irish poets 19th-century Irish novelists 19th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights Irish male dramatists and playwrights Fellows of the Royal Society Members and Associates of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Irish male novelists Irish male poets 19th-century Irish male artists Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge