MOR
MOR
1843. He died young in 1846 or 1847. He is known by some views of Haddon Hail, which he published.
MORLA NX), H., portrait painter. Bromley catalogues portraits painted by an artist of this name in the reign of William III.
MORLAND, George Henry, subject painter. Born the beginning of the 18th century. He lived on the south side of St. James's Square, painted genre subjects, and found encouragement. He was assisted, in 1760, by an advance of money by the Society of Artists. Many of his works are engraved, among them — 'The Pretty Ballad Singer/ by Watson, 1769 ; « The Fair Nun unmasked,' 1769 ; ' The Oyster Woman,' by Philip Dawe. He died some time after 1789.
MORLAND, Henry Robert, portrait painter. Son and pupil of the above. He painted portraits both in oil and crayons, chiefly the latter. He also scraped in mezzo-tint, and was a picture-cleaner and picture-dealer ; but with all these means of living he became bankrupt. He was a man of unsettled habits, frequently chang- ing his residence. His chief works were in crayons. He left numerous drawinj which are usually signed, and though works aimed no higher than the mere domestic incidents of life ; they are not without merit. He exhibited in 1772-74 and 1776 at the Free Society, in the latter year no less than 26 works, and was from 1771 to 1793 an exhibitor of portraits and domestic subjects at the Academy. He painted a portrait of George III., which was engraved by Houston ; a portrait of Garrick as ' Richard III. ' which is in the Garrick Club ; and at Lord Mansfield's, Caenwood, are portraits in oil by him, called the two beautiful Miss Gunnings, but are more probably from his own daugh- ters. They are both, as was his manner, employed, the one in washing, the other ironing ; carefully drawn, and laboriously finished, expressive but cold, thin, and starved in colour. They are published among Carington Bowles' by no means select series of prints as 'Lady's Maid ironing' and 'Lady's Maid soaping linen.' Many of his later works shew much greater power, and there are some fine mezzo-tints after him. At the latter part of his life, he dwelt in Stephen Street, Rathbone Place, where he died, November 30, 1797, aged 85. Maria Morland, his wife, was an exhibitor at the Academy in 1785-86.
- MORLAND, George, animal and sub-
ject painter. Son of the above. Was born in the Haymarket, June 26, 1763. He very early showed a talent for drawing. He was carefully, even strictly brought up, receiving the elements of a fair education, and in art his dawning abilities were most
assiduously cultivated and encouraged by his father. In 1779 the name of ' Master George Morland ' first appears as an hono- rary exhibitor of sketches at the Royal Academy. He exhibited at the Associated Society of Artists' Exhibition as soon as 1775. He was very early admitted to the Academy Schools, where he studied during several years. Copyingalso from the mas- ters of the Dutch and Flemish Schools, he made great progress. He continued to exhibit occasionally at the Academy, but as he became conscious of his own powers, he rebelled against the restraints of home, and shortly broke entirely loose. His innate dislike to work was soon apparent. He gave himself up to idle folly and extrava- gance, and fell into the hands of a picture- dealer, in whose house he boarded. After a time he escaped from this bondage, went to Margate, where he found employment in painting miniatures, and from thence to France, where he might have earned a sub- sistence, but reckless and unable to settle to any continuous occupation, he returned to his idle companions.
Soon after he went to live at Kensal Green, where he painted his ' Idle and In- dustrious Mechanic,' which were engraved and published and had a large sale. Upon this success he married, in 1786, the sister of his friend, William Ward, the mezzo- tint engraver, and again living quietly for a while he improved in his art ; but his handsome young wife losing her first child, and a long illness succeeding, he was tempted from his home, and allured by his love of company and passionate fondness for music, again fell into idle and unprofit- able connections, and became confirmed in habits of intemperance and dissipation, from which he never after was able to dis- entangle himself. Painting from hand to mouth, surrounded bya class of unprincipled men, who made a traffic of his art, the victim of chicanery and fraud, hunted from place to place by his creditors, and always at hide-and-seek, his art was debased and degraded. Yet in 1791-93 and 1794 he sent some pictures to the Academy, and struggled for a time to give some complete- ness to his works ; but a rapid pencil was required to meet his constantly recurring wants, and he was fast exhausting his memory, on which he relied, and his powers.
His toil was nevertheless excessive. He seldom left his painting-room, and his com- plaints of the slave-like labour to which he was subjected are truly touching. Between 1800 and 1804 he painted for his brother alone, who was a dealer in his works, no less than 192 pictures, and probably as many more for other persons. Such was his life. His excesses increased. Taking his meals by his easel, drinking strong liquors all day long, surrounded by dogs, pigs.
297
