Page:Dictionary of Artists of the English School (1878).djvu/358

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

POC

in 1798. the pupil of Romney, and after- wards of Sir William Beechey. He exhi- bited subject pictures and portraits at the Academy m 1800-4 and 5. and was, on a competition, awarded 100/. by the Directors of the British Institution in 1807 for his picture of ' The Murder of St. Thomas a Becket.' He painted several historical sub- jects and portraits. He was a member of the Liverpool Academy in 1812, and ex- hibited there many designs, both in oil and water-colours. From 1810 to 1819 he was also an occasional exhibitor, chiefly of por- traits, at the Royal Academy; but he nad before him the prospect of an independent fortune, and he relaxed in his pursuit of art. In 1815 he succeeded to a property left him by his uncle, and soon after retired to Maidenhead, and to the pursuits of a country gentleman added literature in pre- ference to art. He produced several very successful farces and melodramas. 'Yes or No/ a farce; * Twenty Years Ago,' a melodrama ; ' Any Thing New/ ' The Miller and his Men/ and others. He died at Maidenhead, August 23, 1835, in his 54th year. Hayley addressed a sonnet to him : ' Ingenious son of an ingenious sire! Pocock ! with friendly joy I saw thee start For honour's goal in the career of art/

POCOCK, W. F., architect. He first commenced art as a, landscape painter; then, turning to architecture, he was an exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1799 to 1827 of works, not of importance, which he was executing ; but in 1806 he contri- buted, a larger attempt, a ' Design for a Temple of Fame/ He published ' Modern Finishings for Rooms/ 'Architectural Designs for Rustic Cottages/ &c., 1811.

POLACK, Solomon, miniature painter. Was born at the Hague in 1757. He came to England early in life and settled here. He first appeared as an exhibitor at the Royal Academy 1790, and was from that time for above 40 years a constant con- tributor. He practised for a time in Ireland, towards the end of the century. Died at Chelsea, August 30, 1839. He designed and etched the plates to a Hebrew Bible.

POLLARD, Robert, engraver. Was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne, and was appren- ticed to a silversmith in that town. He afterwards became a pupil of Richard Wilson. He commenced art as a painter of landscapes and marine subjects, and later practised as an engraver. He worked with the point, etched, aqua-tinted, and produced raanyplates from his own designs, among these ' The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green/ and * Lieut. Moody Rescues Him- self from the Americans/ and a hunting piece. 'At Fault' Also after Serres, Smirfce, Wheatley, Paye, and, after Dayes. the elaborate drawing of 'The Trial of

z

POP

Warren Hastings/ crowded with figures. He was the last surviving member of the Incorporated Society of Artists, and in 1836 ne gave over to the Royal Academy the books and papers of the Society. After experiencing great privations and. vicissi- tudes, he died on May 23, 1838, aged 83.

  • POND, Arthur, painter and enaraver.

He was born about 1705. and was educated in London. He travelled to Rome with Roubiliac, the sculptor. In his engravings he worked with the needle, and also in the chalk and crayon manners, and produced several plates, in which he admirably imi- tated, by the means of etching and aqua- tint, the manner of the Poussins, Salvator Rosa, and others. In 1734-5 he published imitations of the Italian masters ; and afterwards, in connexion with Knapton, 90 plates after the great painters; also a set of caricatures after the Cavaliere Ghizzi. with some others. He painted several portraits during George Il.'s reign, and a portrait of William Duke of Cumberland, which was engraved by Ravenet. Mc Ardell and Grignion also engraved after him, and he engraved some fine plates himself, after Raphael, Parmegiano, Caravaggio. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1752, and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries the same year. He had a house in Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. He died September 9, 1758. His collection of drawings by the old masters was sold in the following year, and realised 1449/.

POPE, Alexander, amateur. Born in London, May 22, 1688. The celebrated poet. He was an amateur painter, proud of his attainments in art. He was from a child fond of drawing, was for 18 months the pupil of Jervas, and made considerable progress. He painted and copied portraits and worked hard to excel. He says, in a letter to Gay, dated 1713, after his eyes had been opened to the superior abilities of his friend Jervas, *I have thrown away three Swifts, each of which was once my vanity, two Lady Bridgewaters, a Duchess of Montague, half-a-dozen Earls and a Knight of the Garter.' Some proof, indeed, that he had tried to succeed. When Jervas went to Ireland we are told that Pope took up his abode in the painter's London house, and as a relaxation drudged away at his easel morning, noon, and night. He designed a fan, the Story of Cephalus and Procris, which was purchased by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and a frontispiece for a small edition of his own ' Essay on Man.' A head of Betterton by him, a copy after Sir Godfrey Kneller, is in the possession of the Earl of Mansfield. He died at Twickenham. May 30, 1744.

POPE, Sombrvillb Stevens, amateur. Was the son of a miniature painter in Ireland, under whom, and also under

337