Lot 41: Henry William Pickersgill, R.A. (1782-1875)

Portrait of John Thomas Barber Beaumont, full-length, seated, in a black coat, holding a quill in his right hand, by a table with an inkstand and documents inscribed 'Thorley Sedgewick/....mons', the County Fire Office beyond
oil on canvas
94 1/4 x 57 3/4 in. (239.4 x 146.7 cm.)

London, Royal Academy, 1823, no. 189.

John Thomas Barber Beaumont founded the County Fire and Provident Life Insurance offices in 1807, and the office's opening meeting is recorded as having taken place at his house at 25 Southampton Street, Covent Garden.

However, Barber Beaumont had begun his career as an artist studying at the Royal Academy Schools from 1791, and was a regular contributor to the Academy's annual exhibitions between 1794 and 1806. A portrait painter best remembered for his miniatures, Prince Edward and the Dukes of Kent and York were among his patrons. It was around 1812 that he added the name Beaumont to the family name of Barber.

This picture shows Barber Beaumont sitting in front of a drape pulled back to reveal the County Fire Office building on Regent Street. It was in these offices that he died, age 67, in 1841.

Henry William Pickersgill specialised in portraiture. He was elected as a Royal Academician in 1826, and in the following years established a reputation as a leading society portrait painter.

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