'AINTING Wolfe, in the possession of the Duke of Westminster, a replica of which is at Hampton Court — he displayed con- siderable technical skill and refinement of feeling. West, who was much patronized by the King (George III.), was one of the first members of the Royal Academy, and succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds as president of that institution in 1792. James Barry (1741 — 1806), a native of Cork, en- deavoured, like West, to paint historic subjects in the grand style. His works are characterized by force of con- ception rather than power of execution ; he was deficient in knowledge of form and in feeling for truth of colouring ; but the energetic perseverance with which he worked on against every disadvantage is worthy of high respect. His best designs are the series of allegoric pictures painted gratuitously for the Society of Arts, on the walls of their room in the Adelphi, at a time when he had to work at night for the booksellers to gain a scanty subsistence. John Singleton Copley (1737 — 1815) was born in America, of Irish parents. He was less ambitious than West or Barry, and succeeded more fully in reaching his aims. Some of his historic compositions show great dramatic power and truth to nature — as, for example, the Death of Chatham and the Death of Major Peirson, both in the National Gallery. The former is grandly conceived, well executed, and valuable as containing a group of faithful portraits of great men of the time ; and the latter is full of the deepest pathos, and is moreover set in the actual scene in which the tragic incident took place — viz., the market-place of S. Heliers, Jersey, taken by the French in 1781. Other great historic pictures by Copley are Charles I. ordering the arrest of five Members of the
