John Ellys or Ellis (March 1701 – 14 September 1757) was an English portrait-painter.
Life
Ellys was born in March 1701. When he was about fifteen years old, he was placed for instruction under
Sir James Thornhill. After a short time he took instruction under
Johann Rudolph Schmutz; he also remained under Schmutz only a short time. He subsequently became an imitator of
John Vanderbank and was a student with
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 ...
and others in the academy that
Louis Chéron and Vanderbank founded in October 1720 in
St Martin's Lane
St Martin's Lane is a street in the City of Westminster, which runs from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, after which it is named, near Trafalgar Square northwards to Long Acre. At its northern end, it becomes Monmouth Street, London, Mo ...
. After a few years Ellys and Hogarth succeeded to the directorship of this
St Martin's Lane Academy, and maintained their connection with it for about thirty years.
When he was still young Ellys obtained a warrant to copy pictures in the royal palaces for study, and copied several pictures by
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh child of ...
,
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 ...
,
Peter Lely
Sir Peter Lely (14 September 1618 – 30 November 1680) was a painter of Dutch origin whose career was nearly all spent in England, where he became the dominant portrait painter to the court. He became a naturalised British subject and was kn ...
, and others. Of the Kneller school of portrait-painting, he disliked the innovations of
Sir 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 eventually succeeded to Vanderbank's house and practice, and having already purchased from
Moses Vanderbank a share of the place of tapestry-maker to the Crown, eventually obtained that position also. Ellys was consulted and employed by
Sir Robert Walpole in the formation of his collection of pictures, and was sent to Holland to purchase from the
Princess of Friesland ''The Virgin and Angels'' by Vandyck, which was subsequently held in the
Hermitage Gallery. For his services Walpole rewarded Ellys with the
sinecure
A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...
of master keeper of the lions in
the Tower, which Ellys retained until his death.
In October 1736 Ellys succeeded
Philip Mercier
Philippe Mercier (also spelled Philip Mercier; 1689 – 18 July 1760) was an artist of Huguenots, French Huguenot descent from the German realm of Brandenburg-Prussia (later Kingdom of Prussia), usually defined to French art, French school. Act ...
as the principal painter to
Frederick, Prince of Wales, He was a member of the committee of artists appointed in 1755 to frame a plan for constructing a royal academy, but he did not survive to see the result of their efforts, because he died on 14 September 1757. 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 ...
was established by royal decree in 1768.
Works
A 1727 Ellys portrait of Lord Whitworth and his nephew was at
Knole in Kent. Many of his portraits were engraved by
, including:
Lavinia Fenton, Duchess of Bolton;
James Figg the pugilist; Frederick, Prince of Wales;
Henry Medley; George Oldham; Lord Mayor
Humphrey Parsons
Humphrey Parsons ( – ) was an English merchant and Tories (British political party), Tory politician who twice served as Lord Mayor of London in 1730 and 1740. He also sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain, British House of Commons fro ...
;
William Wake
William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a minister in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 to his death.
Life
Wake was born in Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, o ...
, archbishop of Canterbury;
Thomas Walker, the actor, as Captain Macheath;
Robert Wilks the actor, and
George Stanhope, dean of Canterbury. The Stanhope portrait was also engraved by J. Sympson. Among engravings by other artists from Ellys's portraits were
Kitty Clive
Catherine Clive (née Raftor; 5 November 1711 – 6 December 1785) Catherine ‘Kitty’ Clive (1711–1785, active 1728–1769) was a first songster and star comedienne of British playhouse entertainment. Clive led and created new forms of Engl ...
, by
John Tinney;
Sir Charles Wager, by
George White; and
Edmund Gibson
Edmund Gibson (16696 September 1748) was a British divine who served as Bishop of Lincoln and Bishop of London, jurist, and antiquary.
Early life and career
He was born in Bampton, Westmorland. In 1686 he was entered a scholar at Queen's ...
, bishop of London, by
George Vertue
George Vertue (1684 – 24 July 1756) was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period.
Life
Vertue was born in 1684 in St Martin-in-the-Fields ...
.
References
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellys, John
1701 births
1757 deaths
English artists