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Notes
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Novelist, collector and patron of the arts, the eccentric William Beckford was the son of a famous Lord Mayor of London and heir to a West Indian slave trade fortune. Aside from being one of the richest men in England, Beckford was best known for his Oriental-Gothic horror novel Vathek, which he wrote aged 22, and for his extravagant Gothic-style residence Fonthill Abbey, with its 300 foot tower, which he built on his estate near Salisbury. Beckford sat to Reynolds in February 1782, soon after his return from the Grand Tour and the year that Vathek was published. The portrait was exhibited that year at the Royal Academy and remained in Beckford's possession until his death. Before it was engraved in 1835, the background was repainted. This overpaint was only discovered when the portrait was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1980.
Title
William Beckford
Date
1782
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 72.7 x W 58.4 cm
Accession number
5340
Acquisition method
Purchased, 1980
Work type
Painting
National Portrait Gallery, London
St Martin’s Place, London, Greater London WC2H 0HE England
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