Charles Reuben Ryley (1752?–1798) was an English painter.

Life

The son of a trooper in the Horse Guards, he was born in London about 1752. He was of weak constitution and deformed in figure. At first he studied engraving, for which he received a premium in 1767 from the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

; later he took up painting and became a pupil of

John Hamilton Mortimer John Hamilton Mortimer (17 September 1740 – 4 February 1779) was a British figure and landscape painter and printmaker, known for romantic paintings set in Italy, works depicting conversations, and works drawn in the 1770s portraying war s ...

, and a student of the

Royal Academy 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 ...

. Bad health affected his work, and he worked for booksellers, and taught in schools. He died on 13 October 1798, at his house in what was then the New Road,

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

Works

Ryley was awarded a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in 1778 for a painting of ''Orestes on the point of being sacrificed by Iphigenia''. He exhibited it at the Royal Academy in 1779, and was a constant exhibitor of drawings and small pictures, mostly in the style of his master, Mortimer. He was employed on decorative paintings by the

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles ...

at Goodwood, Mr. Willett at Merly, Mr. Conolly in Ireland, and elsewhere. Some his work was published as engravings. He was commissioned by James Parkinson to provide the artwork for the illustrations within ''Museum Leverianum Containing Select Specimens from the Museum of Sir Ashton Leve''r (published 1792–96).

References

External links

WorldCat page
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryley, Charles Reuben 1750s births 1798 deaths Painters from London 18th-century English painters English male painters 18th-century English male artists