Romney, George

Romney, George (1734–1802). English painter, mainly of portraits. Born in Lancashire, the son of a builder and cabinetmaker, he worked in the north of England until 1762, when he settled in London. There he became the most successful portraitist of the day apart from Reynolds and Gainsborough. His posthumous reputation was once almost the equal of theirs, but later faded considerably. Much of his work is now considered facile and repetitive compared with that of his two great contemporaries, and he was probably at his best with portraits of young people, when his delicate colour sense and graceful line were used to good effect. As with many successful portraitists, his heart lay elsewhere and he had aspirations to be a history painter. In 1773–5 he visited Italy and this made a lasting effect on him, but his plans for grandiose literary and historical works rarely advanced beyond his sepia drawings (a large collection is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), although he painted for Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery. Introspective and nervous by temperament, Romney was attracted to literary circles and associated little with his fellow artists, never exhibiting at the Royal Academy. His friends among artists tended to be others of literary inclination, such as Flaxman. In 1781 Romney met Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton, Nelson's mistress, and became infatuated with her, painting her many times in various guises. His final years were marred by ill health and depression and in 1799 he retired to Kendal in Cumberland. There he was cared for by his wife, whom he had rarely seen since settling in London. Romney's output was prolific, and his paintings are in many collections in Britain and the USA (in the early 20th century he was a particular favourite of American collectors and his work often fetched huge sums at this time).