William Hoare of Bath RA (c. 1707 – 12 December 1792) was an English Portraitist, painter and printmaker; until the arrival of Thomas Gainsborough at Bath, Somerset, he was the leading Portraitist. He was a co-founder of the Royal Academy and noted for his pastels.
Born near Eye, Suffolk, Hoare received a gentleman’s education in Faringdon. He showed a marked aptitude for drawing and was sent to London to study under Giuseppe Grisoni, who had lef...
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William Hoare of Bath RA (c. 1707 – 12 December 1792) was an English Portraitist, painter and printmaker; until the arrival of Thomas Gainsborough at Bath, Somerset, he was the leading Portraitist. He was a co-founder of the Royal Academy and noted for his pastels.
Born near Eye, Suffolk, Hoare received a gentleman’s education in Faringdon. He showed a marked aptitude for drawing and was sent to London to study under Giuseppe Grisoni, who had left Florence for London in 1715. When Grisoni returned to Italy in 1728, Hoare went with him, travelling to Rome and continuing his studies under the direction of Francesco Imperiali. He remained in Rome for nine years, returning to London in 1737/8.
Failing to establish himself in London, Hoare settled in Bath, an expanding spa town popular with the wealthier classes. He obtained numerous commissions, the most important being for official portraits of social leaders of the day (including George Frideric Handel) and political men (e.g., Prime...
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