John Opie, R.A.

The artistic talents of John Opie, celebrated as the “Cornish Wonder,” were recognized at a young age. He arrived in London in 1781 and his dramatic and realistic style quickly left an impression on other artists in the city, including Joshua Reynolds, who likened the young Opie to “Caravaggio and Velasquez in one.” While scenes of country life such as the present engrossed the artist in his early years, he would go on to establish himself as one of the most prominent historical and portrait painters of his generation in London, and was highly respected among his fashionable clients, including members of the British Royal Family. After exhibiting many of his works at the Royal Academy in the early 1780s, Opie was elected RA in 1787 and Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy in 1805.