1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Webster, Thomas (painter)

WEBSTER, THOMAS (1800–1886), English figure painter, was born at Ranelagh Street, Pimlico, London, on the 20th of March 1800. His father was a member of the household of George III.; and the son, having shown an aptitude for music, became a chorister in the Chapel Royal, St James’s. He, however, developed a still stronger love for painting, and in 1821 he was admitted student of the Royal Academy, to whose exhibition he contributed, in 1824, portraits of “Mrs Robinson and Family.” In the following year he gained the first medal in the school of painting. Till 1879 he continued to exhibit in the Royal Academy work of a genial and gently humorous character, dealing commonly with subjects of familiar incident, and especially of child life. Many of these were exceedingly popular, particularly his “Punch” (1840), which procured in 1841 his election as A.R.A., followed five years later by, full membership. He became an honorary retired academician in 1877, and died at Cranbrook, Kent, on the 23rd of September 1886. His “Going into School, or the Truant” (1836), and his “Dame’s School” (1843) are in the National Gallery, and five of his works are in the South Kensington Museum.