John Jackson, 'William Seguier', 1830
About the work
Overview
William Seguier (1772–1843) was a picture dealer and picture cleaner. He was Superintendent of the British Institution from its foundation in 1805, Surveyor, Cleaner and Repairer of the King’s Pictures from 1820 and Keeper of the National Gallery from its foundation in 1824. He continued in all three positions until his death. He also advised many private collectors on buying, hanging and cleaning paintings.
Seguier’s training in trade, the fact that he had never been to Italy and had a Cockney accent prompted continual jibes, but it was conceded that although he lacked airs and graces he was an excellent judge of pictures.
Jackson’s portrait shows Seguier at the age of 58. The artist, an old friend of the sitter, died before finishing the portrait, which was commissioned by one of Seguier’s most wealthy private clients, George Watson Taylor MP.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- William Seguier
- Artist
- John Jackson
- Artist dates
- 1778 - 1831
- Date made
- 1830
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 78.7 × 65.4 cm
- Inscription summary
- Inscribed
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Charles H. Seguier-Brown, great-grandson of the sitter, 1950
- Inventory number
- NG6022
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Judy Egerton, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The British Paintings’, London 2000; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1836Report from the Select Committee on Arts and Their Connexion With Manufactures, London 1836
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1841Report from the Select Committee on National Monuments and Works of Art, London 1841
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1843G. Darley, 'Obituary: William Seguier', The Athenaeum, 1843
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1843'Obituary Notice', The Times, 1843
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1844'Obituary Notice', Gentleman's Magazine, 1844, pp. 97-8
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1844Christie & Manson, The Very Celebrated Collection of Painters' Etchings and Engravings of William Seguier, Esq., Deceased, Late Conservator of the Royal and National Galleries, London, 4 May 1844
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1844Christie & Manson, A Catalogue of the Choice Cabinet of Pictures, Chiefly of the Dutch and English Schools, of William Seguier, Esq. Deceased: Late Conservator of the Royal and National Galleries, London, 4 May 1844
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1860T. Smith, Recollections of the British Institution, London 1860
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1874S. Redgrave, A Dictionary of Artists of the English School, London 1874
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1906L.H. Cust, 'William Seguier, First Keeper of the National Gallery', Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London, VIII, 1906, pp. 157-64
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1917L. Cust, 'William Seguier', in L. Stephens and S. Lee (eds), The Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford 1917
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1930W.T. Whitley, Art in England 1821-1837, Cambridge 1930
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1955The National Gallery, The National Gallery: 1938 - 1954, London 1955
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1956H.C. Morgan, Life and Works of John Jackson RA, Phd Thesis, University of Leeds 1956
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1959Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: British School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1959
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1960W.B. Pope, The Diary of Benjamin Robert Haydon, Cambridge MA 1960
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1974G. Martin, 'The Founding of the National Gallery', The Connoisseur, 1974
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1982C.M. Kauffmann, Catalogue of the Paintings in the Wellington Museum, London 1982
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1982S. Jervis, 'Picture Frames and Picture Hanging in Apsley House', in C.M. Kauffmann (ed.), Catalogue of the Paintings in the Wellington Museum, London 1982, pp. 17-20
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1998J. Egerton, The British School, London 1998
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2000Egerton, Judy, National Gallery Catalogues: The British Paintings, revised edn, London 2000
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
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