Thomas Baxter Jnr. (17 February 1782 – 18 April 1821) was an English porcelain painter, and a

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...

painter and illustrator.

Life and work

Baxter (of whom an account is given in 'A Century of Potting in the City of Worcester' by R. W. Binns, 1877) was born in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, the son of a china painter and gilder, who had workshops in

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 ...

connected with the Worcester china works. Baxter received his first instruction in art from his father. He was a fellow student of

Benjamin Haydon Benjamin Robert Haydon (; 26 January 178622 June 1846) was a British painter who specialised in grand historical pictures, although he also painted a few contemporary subjects and portraits. His commercial success was damaged by his often tactle ...

at 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 ...

, as appears from a letter written by Baxter to Haydon in 1819. He was patronised by

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

, and was often employed by him in making sketches at his estate in Merton; He also painted for him a rich dessert service. In his paintings upon china he introduced figures from the works of Reynolds,

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

and other well-known painters. In 1814 he left Worcester and established an art school in London, and had pupils who were afterwards distinguished in their special line. In 1816 he worked for the

Cambrian Pottery The Cambrian Pottery was founded in 1764 by William Coles in Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales. In 1790, John Coles, son of the founder, went into partnership with George Haynes, who introduced new business strategies based on the ideas of Josiah ...

at Swansea, and was there three years. His great work at that place was a "Shakespeare Cup" (from its description, remarkable more for ingenuity than for good taste). In 1819, he returned to Worcester, and was again employed at the Royal Porcelain Works (owned by Flight and Barr), and afterwards at Robert Chamberlain's factory. He was described as "the most accomplished artist who painted Worcester porcelain in the first half of the eighteenth century". He also made drawing's for John Britton's book on

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

, wrote and illustrated a book on ancient costume,Thomas Baxter.
An illustration of the Egyptian, Grecian, and Roman costume
' (London, 1810) and made two "very clever" copies of the '

Portland vase The Portland Vase is a Roman glass, Roman cameo glass vase, which is dated between AD 1 and AD 25, though low BC dates have some scholarly support. It is the best known piece of Roman cameo glass and has served as an inspiration to many glass an ...

.' Baxter died in London, 18 April 1821.

References

Attribution: *

External links

Porcelain pieces decorated by Thomas Baxter jnr.
(

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

)
Jubal cup
(Glynn Vivian Art Gallery)
Porcelain plate (E6089)
(

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unit ...

)
Baxter portrait mug
(Worcester porcelain museum)
A pair of English porcelain, cobalt-blue, ground spill vases
(c. 1815 -

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Thomas Porcelain painters 19th-century English painters English male painters English watercolourists English illustrators English flower artists 1782 births 1821 deaths Artists from Worcester, England 19th-century English male artists

Life and work

References

Further reading

External links