Benjamin Wilson (21 June 1721 – 6 June 1788) was a British painter, printmaker and scientist (natural philosopher).

Life

He was the 14th child of Major Wilson, a wealthy

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

clothier whose house was decorated by the French history painter, Jacques Parmentier (d 1730). His father's business failed and Wilson moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he became a legal clerk and began to study painting, with the encouragement of

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...

, taking life-drawing classes at St. Martin's Lane Academy. For two weeks in 1746 and again from 1748 to 1750 he was 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 ...

, where he practised successfully as a

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 ...

and electrical scientist. On his return to London he settled into

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723) was a German-born British painter. The leading Portrait painting, portraitist in England during the late Stuart period, Stuart and early Georgian eras ...

's old house in Great Queen Street and built up a lucrative portrait practice, competing with the young

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 ...

. He obtained an introduction to

Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany (Edward Augustus;In ''The London Gazette'', the Prince is called simply 'Prince Edward'16 November 1756 Earl of Mexborough Earl of Mexborough, of Lifford in the County of Donegal, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 11 February 1766 for John Savile, 1st Baron Pollington, Member of Parliament for Hedon and New Shoreham. He had already been c ...

. The Duke hired Wilson to manage his small private theater in London, and in 1773 was instrumental in having Wilson appointed as Painter to the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

, though he seems to have painted little after 1777. As a scientist he opposed

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

's theory of positive and negative electricity. Instead, Wilson supported

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

's gravitational-optical ether, which he supposed to differ in density around bodies in accordance with their degrees of electrification. Wilson also opposed Franklin's theory of pointed lightning rods, holding that blunt conductors performed better than pointed ones. Wilson also tried to increase the light intensity and duration of solid state

luminescent Luminescence is a spontaneous emission of radiation from an electronically or vibrationally excited species not in thermal equilibrium with its environment. A luminescent object emits ''cold light'' in contrast to incandescence, where an objec ...

materials. He was the first to presume that metal impurities affect the colour of the luminescence. He experimented with oyster shells to solidify this hypothesis, but contaminations were however too large to come to conclusions. His best experimental work was on the electrical properties of

tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral, silicate mineral group in which boron is chemical compound, compounded with chemical element, elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. This gemstone comes in a ...

, which gained Wilson international recognition, including election to several European academies of science. He had already been 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 1751 and received its gold Copley medal in 1760 for his tourmaline experiments. Amongst Wilson's art pupils were portrait painter

Richard Brompton Richard Brompton (1734-1783) was an English portrait painting, portrait painter. Life Richard Brompton was born in London and baptised at St. Giles in the Fields, Holborn in July 1734, the son of John Brompton and his wife Amy (née Greer). ...

(d. 1782) and the famous future Royal Academician

Johann Zoffany Johan / Johann Joseph Zoffany (born Johannes Josephus Zaufallij; 13 March 1733 – 11 November 1810) was a German neoclassical painter who was active mainly in England, Italy, and India. His works appear in many prominent British collections ...

Selected gallery

File:Dr-Richard-Russell-by-Benjamin-Wilson-c-1755.jpg, ''Dr Richard Russell, FRS'' (1755), Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries File:Deborah Read Franklin.jpg, Portrait of Deborah Read Franklin (1758–59), American Philosophical Society Library & Museum File:Benjamin Franklin 1759.jpg, Portrait of

(1759),

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

File:The Blandy Family.jpg, ''The Blandy Family'' (1784), Museum of the Shenandoah Valley

References

External links

Benjamin Wilson online
(ArtCyclopedia)
Portrait of Arthur Macro
( The Art Fund) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Benjamin 1721 births 1788 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters English portrait painters English scientists Recipients of the Copley Medal 18th-century English people Fellows of the Royal Society 18th-century English male artists