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George Romney, who died in Kendal in 1802 was one of the most celebrated portrait painters of his time, along with Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. He was born in Dalton-in-Furness in 1734 and after learning his craft of cabinet-making there and in Lancaster, he was apprenticed to the portrait painter Christopher Steele in 1755. In 1757 he broke his apprenticeship and set up on his own in a studio in Kendal.

Romney began to build up a reputation through his portraits of the local gentry, particularly the Wilsons of Dallam Tower and the Stricklands of Sizergh Castle. His future was necessarily in London, but there were family complications. He had married Mary Abbot, the daughter of his Kendal landlady, in 1756 and by 1760 he was the father of two children. Eventually, in 1762, Romney set off for London by himself and except for short visits, did not return until he was in his sixty-fifth year.

The reputation that Romney achieved in London by his paintings, particularly of women in the higher ranks of society, is borne out by over a thousand canvasses in public and private collections throughout the world, including some distinguished examples in Abbot Hall. His whole career was in London, apart from two all-important years travelling, studying and sketching in Italy. His fame and his comparatively modest fees did not please Sir Joshua Reynolds, and Romney never submitted paintings to the new Royal Academy, of which Reynolds was President.

Despite his success as a society painter, Romney was a very private man and we know little about his personal life or his opinions. It is evident that he found painting the rich and famous constricting, though financially it was inescapable. He had ambitions in what is known as historical painting and he was an enthusiastic supporter of Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery in the 1780s, to which he contributed his large, Romantic The Tempest.
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A great power and freedom is to be found in his drawings, notably those depicting scenes in some of Shakespeare’s tragedies and the visions of the prison reformer John Howard visiting dungeons. In this kind of work there is an emotional and imaginative depth not found in the more accomplished society portraits.

In 1782, Romney met Emma Hart and became obsessed with her, at least as a subject for his painting, before she became Lady Hamilton and then Nelson’s mistress. She appears in many of his portraits and allegorical paintings and also in some of his Shakespeare paintings.
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Romney had proposed to settle in Hampstead but in 1799 he returned to Kendal and his long-suffering wife, settling in the house near Nether Bridge which now bears his name. He died on 15th November 1802 and was buried in Dalton.
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Romney’s legacy of 2000 paintings and about 5000 drawings, scattered through 23 countries, makes him one of the most distinguished and widely known sons of Furness and South Lakeland in the world.
George Romney - Self Portrait
Self portrait. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven. 
Mrs Wilson and child by George Romney
Mrs Wilson and child. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven.
Prescott Nemours by George Romney
Mrs ​Prescott and children. Nemours Mansion and Gardens. Wilmington, Delaware.
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The following Companies and Museums are associated with, or members of, the Romney Society
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Art Institute Chicago
Gainsboroughs House Sudbury
Taft Museum of Art Ohio
Wordsworth Trust
Barber Institute Birmingham
Getty Research Institute LA
Protest Humanities Index Kentucky
Yale Center for British Art New Haven
Royal Academy of Arts London
Huntington Library San Marino
Thomas J Watson Library The Met NYC
Victoria and Albert Museum London
David Wade Fine Art Harrogate
British Museum London
Kendal Library
National Portrait Gallery London
Guildhall Library London
Sackler Library Oxford
Clark Institute Library Williamstown
Lakeland Arts Trust
Thomas Cooper Library South Carolina
National Museum of Wales Cardiff
Ingalls Library Cleveland Museum of Art
Frick Art Reference Library NYC
Iniversitats Bibliothek Heidelberg
Abbott and Holder London
Tate Gallery London
Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge
Harvard Art Museum Fogg
Courtauld Institute of Art London
Hirsch Library MFA Houston
Paul Mellon Centre London
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  • Home
  • News
  • Diary
  • George Romney
    • About the Artist
    • Biography
    • Sketch Books >
      • Abbot Hall Art Gallery Sketch Book No2
      • Kendal Town Hall Sketch Book
      • A&H Sketch Book 1
      • A&H Sketch Book 2
      • A&H Sketch Book 3
    • Bibliography
    • Missing Romneys
    • Where to see
    • Work examples
  • The Society
    • The Romney Society
    • Lectures & Visits
    • Previous Lectures
    • Publications
    • Transactions
    • Links
    • Do I own a Romney
    • Officers
    • Join
  • Contact