BEECHEY, Sir William

George IV (1762-1830) was king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and king of Hanover following the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten years later. Throughout his adult life, George was an important artistic patron, acquiring an impressive collection of art and patronising architects and designers, most notably at Brighton.

This portrait of the English sculptor Joseph Nollekens is an autograph replica by Beechey of the work which now hangs in the Tate Britain, London.

Lady Mary Anne Pigot (died 1833) was the daughter of Colonel John Monckton (1739-1830) and his wife Anne. She married in 1796 Sir George Pigot (1766-1841). The portrait represents her three quarter length in a white dress, holding a letter.

Margaret Stirling (died 1849) was the daughter of Sir William Stirling, 4th Baronet of Ardoch (c. 1730-1799) and his wife Christian Erskine.

The painting portrays Mrs Simeon, standing in a landscape, with a dog by her side. Mrs Simeon, n�e Harriet Parry, was the daughter of Thomas Parry, a director of the East India Company between 1785-1816.

The sitter is said to be Master Barker.

The painting depicts a brother and sister with their pet spaniel, the boy reading a broadsheet entitled “Robin Hood.” It shows Beechey in relatively light-hearted, almost sentimental mode, and is one of a small group of portraits of children which the artist painted around 1790.