Portrait painter, Genre Painter, Landscape painter, b. 1747 - d. 1801
Artist Francis Wheatley (1747-1801) is best known for his paintings that show the bustling crowds of London. Francis Wheatley's earlier paintings of women in bright clothing posed against dark backgrounds were also popular and sold fast. Aside from his paintings, he undertook illustrations for clothing designers, bringing a realistic quality to the materials. Despite his talent, he was deeply in debt, so he escaped to Dublin with the wife of a friend to avoid paying his creditors.
After returning to London, he focused more on conversation pieces and landscapes of popular areas in England. Francis Wheatley prints and paintings primarily belong to the sentimental genre, showing details in expressions and places to convey feeling. You can view other landscape paintings for sale online at Invaluable to find your next great work of art.
Francis Wheatley R.A. (British 1747-1801), Henry and Jenny, signed and dated 'Wheatley delt./1786' (lower left), watercolour, image 41 x 33 cm, framed and glazed 65 x 55 cm. Provenance With the Fine Art Society, Ltd, London, no.9923. Private collection, UK.
Francis Wheatley England, (1747 - 1801) 11 Works: Cries of London, Print Series hand colored aquatint etchings all custom framed. smaller frames 24 1/2 x 20in, larger 25 1/4 x 20 3/4in
Francis Wheatley RA (1747-1801) The Market Cart Watercolour, pen and ink, 14.6 x 22.2cm (5¾ x 8¾) Provenance: Collection of Hon. Francis D. Murnaghan Jr. thence by descent.
Francis Wheatley R.A. (British 1747-1801) Henry and Jenny signed and dated 'Wheatley delt./1786' (lower left), watercolour, image 41 x 33 cm, framed and glazed 65 x 55 cm. Provenance With the Fine Art Society, Ltd, London, no.9923. Private collection, UK.
FRANCIS WHEATLEY, RA BRITISH, 1747-1801 MOTHER AND THREE CHILDREN OUTSIDE A COTTAGE Watercolor on paper Lower right signed: F. Wheatley RA Catalogue note: During the first half of his career Francis Wheatley painted small-scale portraits in which figures--the ladies with gaily colored apparel--were informally posed and silhouetted against darker landscape backgrounds. He also produced conversation pieces and landscapes, both in oil and watercolor, in which everyday rustic incidents were featured. Later in his career, Wheatley concentrated on his work for which he is best known, sentimental scenes intended for engraving and for distribution on the French and English markets. These scenes depicted bourgeois morality and modern literature, as well as fancy pictures--genre pictures in which sentiment was combined with domestic or rustic realism. Source: NGA, Washington, DC online
FRANCIS WHEATLEY RA (1747-1801) Travellers Resting on a Country Road Oil on canvas, 48.5 x 65cm Provenance: Miss Elizabeth Laidlaw, Castleknock, Co. Dublin, circa 1940's and thence by descent; Whytes Auctioneers, Dublin, 25th April 2006 lot no. 103; The Gorry Gallery, An Exhibition of 18th to 20th Century Irish Painting, March 2008, catalogue no. 5 Born in London, the son of a tailor, Francis Wheatley first trained at William Shipley’s academy. He may also have received some instruction from Richard Wilson, to whom Strickland attributes his later excellence in the field of landscape painting.1 At the age of fifteen he was awarded a prize for drawing by the Society of Artists; further prizes followed in 1763, ‘67 and ‘69. During these years he travelled to expand his artistic education. He appears to have first visited Ireland in 1767, for in the records of the Society of Artists for that year it is recorded that a half-share in the premium for views from nature went to “Francis Wheatley in Ireland”.2 His career progressed rapidly. After only a year at the Royal Academy Schools he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Artists, and by 1772 was made Director of that body. At this time his work consisted mostly of small, full-length portraits and conversation pieces in the manner of Johan Zoffany. He also undertook commissions to paint the interiors of certain noblemen’s homes, including Brocket Hall for Lord Melbourne. During these years he developed what was to be his signature style of clear, pale colour handled in a free and sensitive manner. Success however, led to profligacy. He accrued debts and had, in the words of Edward Edwards, “the folly to engage in an intrigue” with the wife of a fellow artist, John Alexander Gresse.3 In 1779 Wheatley fled to Ireland with Mrs Gresse, whom he passed off as his wife. Prior to this deception becoming known, Wheatley received several important portrait commissions in Ireland including The Macartney Family (Art Gallery, Ontario) and The Marquess and Marchioness of Antrim (NGI). He also executed some of the most important large-scale history paintings of his career whilst in Dublin. The best known of these are The Irish House of Commons in 1780 (the only contemporary painting of the interior of the House of Commons) and A View of College Green with the meeting of the Volunteers on the 4th November 1779 (NGI). This last named work was first exhibited at the Society of Artists in William Street, Dublin, in 1880, along with four others by Wheatley – two portraits and two landscapes of Clontarf and Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) respectively. This was to be his only public exhibition in Ireland. In addition to official portraits and history paintings, Wheatley toured Ireland painting delicate watercolour landscapes and studies of the Irish peasantry. Crookshank and Glin note that ”Wheatley’s Irish work is especially interesting for a number of genre subjects in the Wouverman manner of Irish fairs, fisherfolk and gipsy encampments” and comment that they “capture the late eighteenth century Irish scene better than most artists because of their fluency, clarity and gaiety”.4 According to Mary Webster, Wheatley owned a number of drawings by the Dutch master Phillip Wouver mans and was a great admirer of his depictions of travellers and country fairs.5 Both artists evidently empathised with their subjects; in the words of Gandon and Mulvany, Wheatley “succeeded in delineating the characters of the peasantry, in perfect accordance with the humours he met with on these subjects”.6 It was this empathy that led James Kelly to rate Wheatley’s Irish genre scenes as “one of the most rewarding and appealing vistas on to the daily life of the common people of late eighteenth century Ireland”.7 Among Wheatley’s Irish genre scenes are a number of watercolours in the National Gallery of Donnybrook Fair, which were the basis of a large oil of that subject exhibited at the RA in 1784 (no. 91). These share many attributes in common with the present oil, including the artfully arranged groupings of people and animals, the play of light and shade with some groups seen in silhouette from behind, and the use of a narrow device such as a staff or in this case a horse-whip to lead the eye from figure to figure. In Scene at a Fair (reproduced in Webster, op. cit., page 51), a small figure in a travelling cloak is seated in the foreground, echoing the placing of the man with his roughly pinned cloak in the Travellers Resting on a Country Road. In both the watercolours and the present oil Wheatley displays his command of animal painting by depicting horses and donkeys from every conceivable view-point, invariably placing them in such a way as to again direct the eye into the main focal point of the composition. Horses feature in another oil painting, A Gypsy Encampment in Ireland, integrated into the main grouping of figures (Colonel Grant collection, see Webster, page 133). The somewhat malevolent stare of a mongrel dog accosts the viewer, a device that reoccurs in Riot in Broad Street (engraved 1790, fig. 61 in Webster). Wheatley returned to London early in 1784. In that year’s RA exhibition he showed four Irish works. His depictions of Irish fair scenes and country folk proved popular in England, and he continued to produce them long after he returned from Ireland. These Irish peasants also gradually evolved into general rustic ‘types’, which likewise found a ready market among English audiences. Wheatley went on to specialise in this genre, with his Cries of London becoming one of best-selling series of eighteenth century prints. In 1791 he was elected a Royal Academician, but his final years were plagued by gout and debts. 1 Walter Strickland, A Dictionary of Irish Artists, Vol. II, Maunsel & Co., Dublin, 1913, page 519. The most comprehensive source of information on Wheatley is the monograph on him by Mary Webster, Francis Wheatley, Paul Mellon Centre for British Art, 1970. 2 Ibid. 3 Edward Edwards, Anecdotes of Painters, who have resided or been born in England with critical remarks on their productions, Leigh and Sotheby, London, 1808, quoted by Anne Crookshank and the Knight of Glin, Ireland’s Painters 1600-1940, Yale, New Haven and London, 2002, page 164. 4 Ibid., page 166. 5 Webster, op. cit., page 48. 6 James Gandon and T. J. Mulvany, The Life of James Gandon, Esq, quoted in Webster, op. cit., page 48. 7 James Kelly, ‘Francis Wheatley: His Irish Paintings, 1779—83’, in Adele M. Dalsimer (ed.), Visualizing Ireland: National Identity and the Pictorial Tradition, Faber & Faber, Boston and London, 1993, page 160.
Francis Wheatley - Signed and Dated 1797 This is a very large piece and beautifully framed. It is an Oil on Canvas... signed F Wheatley and dated 1797. Francis Wheatley RA (1747 – 28 June 1801) was an English portrait and landscape painter. Wheatley was born at Wild Court, Covent Garden, London, the son of a master tailor. He studied at William Shipley's drawing school and the Royal Academy, and won several prizes from the Society of Arts. He assisted in the decoration of Vauxhall, and aided John Hamilton Mortimer in painting a ceiling for Lord Melbourne at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire. You can Google Francis Wheatley and the title of this painting "Winter Fuel" and there are many reproduction websites that come up with copies or Art Prints of this piece. The frame measures 150cm by 123cm, and comes with Gallery Presentation Light still affixed to the frame, with wiring to hardwire to a wall switch. Provenance: Sir Robert Cravens Private Collection (UK), and this piece was valued in 2003 by Famous UK Valuer Gurr Johns at 7500 UK Sterling Pounds. Grab this piece of Investment Art.
FRANCIS WHEATLEY (BRITISH 1747-1801)VIEW OF TARBERT, MUNSTER, IRELAND WITH FIGURES DANCING IN THE FOREGROUND Oil on panel21.5 x 30cm (8¼ x 11¾ in.)Provenance: Mrs. Joseph Mayor Her sale, Liverpool, 1887, bought by A.J Squarey (according to a hand-written label, verso)
FRANCIS WHEATLEY R.A. (BRITISH 1747-1801) FISHERMEN BESIDE A LAKE signed and dated F. Wheatley delt. 1776, lower right on the original washline mount pen and grey ink and wash 21 x 34cm; 8¼ x 13¼in together with another drawing by Robert Price (British 1717-1761), The Grove at Foxley in Herefordshire, 1744 both unframed (2)
WHEATLEY. Francis, (British, 1747-1801): Depiction of a gathering of woman in a rural town landscape, Oil on Canvas, no visible signature, older exhibition labels verso, 20" x 26", framed 29.5" x 35". Condition: Craquelure, scattered inpaint, frame with chips to gilt.
18 Century Oil on Canvas Painting by Francis Wheatley, R.A. (London 1747-1801) (Attributed) - Wood gatherers and their dog on the road home DESCRIPTION oil on canvas size: 11 _ x 14 in. (28.6 x 35.6 cm.) frame: 14 by 17 in. Signed and dated, ÔF. Wheatley 1797' (lower right). PROVENANCE Mrs. Leonard T. Davidson The Speed Art Museum, Kentucky, by bequest from the above, 1970 (as Francis Wheatley) Christie's, New York, February 7, lot 8, with an incorrect reading of the signature (as follower)
Circle of Francis Wheatley, RA, British 1747-1801- Portrait of a lady, standing, full-length, wearing a bonnet with pink ribbons and holding a book of sheet music; watercolour on paper, oval, 35.4 x 25.6 cm. Provenance: Private Collection, UK. Note: The present work exhibits the soft and sensitive handling which defines Wheatley's watercolours, with the delicate hatching in the background and the folds and subtle pinstripe of the sitter's dress recalling Wheatley's drawing entitled 'The Miniature', which is currently in the British Museum collection [1887,1010.13]. The present enigmatic portrait depicts an unknown sitter who holds a book of sheet music open to the viewer, suggesting that she may well be a singer, musician or performer.
L'AMOUR; LA FOLIE; L'HEUREUSE FAMILLE Two color aquatints and etchings and a color engraving by Jean-François Janinet (2) and Johann Gerhard Huck, respectively, framed; Together with After Francis Wheatley (1747-1801) MORNING, COTTAGES GOING OUT HAYMAKING, color mezzotint, framed. Sight of largest sheet 20 1/4 x 25 3/4 inches; 514 x 654 mm. Largest frame 34 x 28 5/8 inches; 864 x 727 mm.
FRANCIS WHEATLEY (BRITISH 1747-1801) MILKMAIDS IN A FARMYARD Pencil and watercolourSigned and dated 'F. Wheatley delt.1795' (lower left) 23.7 x 31.5cm (9¼ x 12¼ in.)PROVENANCE: Ellis & Smith, LondonArthur N. GilbeySale, Christie's, London, 25-26 April 1940, lot 227 Spink, London
Original color lithograph after English Royal Academician Francis Wheatley series' Cries of London, entitled Old Chairs to Mend (Rempailleur de Chaises.) Artist: Francis Wheatley (British 1747-1801) Issued: 19th century Dimensions: 12"L x 15"H Country of Origin: England
An antique late 18th-century English engraving on paper. The artwork depicts a multi-figure genre scene, a family in prison cell. Titled John Howard, Esq. Visiting and Relieving the Miseries of a Prison in the bottom middle. Painted by Francis Wheatley, 1747 to 1801, a British artist, member of the Royal Academy of Arts. Engraved by James or Jacob Hogg, born 1761, a British printmaker. Published by Thomas Simpson, 1765 to 1801, a British printseller based in London, England. Dated April 9, 1790. Grey mat, golden frame. John Howard, 1726 to 1790, was an English philanthropist and prison reformer. Collectible Graphic Art Prints.
An antique late 18th-century English engraving on paper. The artwork depicts a multi-figure genre scene, a family in prison cell. Titled John Howard, Esq. Visiting and Relieving the Miseries of a Prison in the bottom middle. Painted by Francis Wheatley, 1747 to 1801, a British artist, member of the Royal Academy of Arts. Engraved by James or Jacob Hogg, born 1761, a British printmaker. Published by Thomas Simpson, 1765 to 1801, a British printseller based in London, England. Dated April 9, 1790. Grey mat, golden frame. John Howard, 1726 to 1790, was an English philanthropist and prison reformer. Collectible Graphic Art Prints.
After Francis Wheatley (1747-1801): Cries of London comprising 12 engravings, printed by various printers: "Do You Want Any Matches", "Strawberry Scarlet Strawberry", "Milk Below Maids", "New Mackerel, New Mackerel", "Knives, Scissors and Razors to Grind", "Old Chairs to Mend", "Sweet China Oranges, Sweet Oranges", "Turnips & Carrots Ho", "A New Love Song", " Two Bunches a Penny. Primrose, Two Bunches a Penny", "Hot Spice Gingerbread Smoking Hot!", and "Fresh Gathered Peas Young Hastings"
Francis Wheatley, RA, British 1747-1801- Apple Gathering; pencil and brown wash on paper, signed 'F. Wheatly' (lower right), 19.5 x 25.2 cm. Provenance: with The Bell Gallery, Belfast. with The Fine Art Society, London, no.9585. Private Collection, UK. Note: Wheatley was a hugely versatile artist, with an output which ranged from smaller-scale portraits and conversation scenes, often informed by the compositions of Johann Zoffany (1733-1810), to history paintings and landscapes which he moved towards later in his career. Idyllic pastoral scenes often form the subject of his works, with this drawing - a romanticisation of rural life in England or Ireland - a particularly charming example.
Attributed to Francis Wheatley (British, 1747-1801) Portrait of a Gentleman, Possibly a Shipowner oil on canvas unsigned 19 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. Provenance: Spink and Son, Ltd., London, 1965.
After Francis Wheatley, RA (British, 1747-1801) Shakespeare, Taming of the Shrew, Act II, Scene II, Engraving by Jean Pierre Simon (1750-1810) Published by John Boydell, London. Framed dimensions: H: 30 1/2 x W: 35 in. H: 17 1/2 W: 23 1/4 in. With Certificate of Authenticity, Global Fine Art
Francis Wheatley, R.A. (London 1747-1801) (Attributed) - Wood gatherers and their dog on the road home DESCRIPTION oil on canvas size: 11 1/4 x 14 in. (28.6 x 35.6 cm.) frame: 14 by 17 in. Signed and dated, ÔF. Wheatley 1797' (lower right). PROVENANCE Mrs. Leonard T. Davidson The Speed Art Museum, Kentucky, by bequest from the above, 1970 (as Francis Wheatley) Christie's, New York, February 7, lot 8, with an incorrect reading of the signature (as follower)
AFTER FRANCIS WHEATLEY (BRITISH 1747-1801) SEE-SAW stipple engraving 18.5 x 18cm/ 7 1/4 x 7in (plate) 24 x 23cm/ 9 x 9 1/2in (framed) Property of a Lady Provenance: Arthur Ackermann & Son Ltd, London *offered for sale without reserve
Wheatley, Francis (1747 London - 1801 ebenda) Nach ''Milk below Maids'' (Cries of London). Stahlstich (?) von unbekannt nach Wheatley, Mitte 19. Jh. Unsigniert. Im Passepartout hinter Glas gerahmt. 42 x 32 cm (Pl), 54 x 43 cm (Ra). Etwas angegilbt, leicht stockfleckig. Seitenverkehrte Wiederholung des Milchmädchen-Blattes aus Wheatley's ''Schreie aus London'' Folge von 1795. Bekannt ist vorallem die Radierung von Luigi Schiavonetti, hier liegt aber eine weitere Reprise vor. ''Milk below Maids'' (Cries of London). Steel engraving (?) by unknwon after Wheatley, mid 19th century. Unsigned. Framed behind glass. A bit tanned yellowish, some stains.
Lot 225 Francis Wheatley English (1747-1801) Knife Grinder oil on canvas signed lower right 30 1/2 x 25 1/4 inches frame dimensions: 38 1/2 x 33 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches, wood frame Provenance: From a Private Manhattan Estate
Francis Wheatley(1747-1801), British, Print. Titled "Cries Of London" 1799 A woman holding baskets as a focal point. Two men are located behind the woman on the viewers right and horses are located behind the woman on the viewers left. Framed with some discoloration. Francis Wheatley RA was an English portrait and landscape painter Overall size: 11 3/4 x 8 in. Image size: 6 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.
FRANCIS WHEATLEY, R.A. (LONDON 1747-1801 MIDDLESEX) Portrait of a gentleman, full-length, in a crimson coat holding a walking cane... oil on canvas 16 x 21 1/8 in. (40.5 x 53.6 cm.)
"Cries of London" (19./20. Jh.) Fünf Farbdrucke nach englischen Farbstichen: "Old Chairs to mend" (2x); "Knives, Scissars and Razors to Grind"; "Sweet China Oranges, Sweet China" und "A new Love Song only ha'penny a piece". Platte 3, 6, 10 u. 11. Je ca. 35,5×27,5 cm. R. (58047)
Wheatley, Francis (1747-1801). Die Schäferin (Adelaïde). Punktierkupfer von James Hogg (1770-1835). 31,5:30,8 (45,4:38,6) cm. Bildbeleg zu Kunstleistungen von Wunderkindern: F. Wheatley lieferte die Vorlage zur Schäferin als Neunjähriger, 1756. »Debütierte 1765, 18 Jahre alt, in der Soc. of Artists« (Thieme/B.). – Schwacher Lichtrand.
Lot 40 Francis Wheatley English (1747-1801) Knife Grinder oil on canvas signed lower right 30 1/2 x 25 1/4 inches frame dimensions: 38 1/2 x 33 1/4 x 2 3/4 inches, wood frame Provenance: From a Private Manhattan Estate
Francis Wheatley (United Kingdom, England, Ireland, 1747 - 1801) Oil on Canvas. Signed lower left. Seated female farm hand in wheat field. Sight Size: 10.75 x 9.25 in. Overall Framed Size: 18.5 x 17 in.
Property from a Private American Collection Francis Wheatley London 1747 - 1801 King Alfred in the house of the neatherd signed and dated lower left: F. Wheatley p.x.t / 1792 inscribed on stool lower left: EN oil on canvas canvas: 77 by 58 ⅞ in.; 195.6 by 149.5 cm. framed: 84 by 66 ¼ in.; 213.4 by 168.3 cm.
