*This site is is best viewed on a PC or laptop.

 

John Downman

1750-1824 Wales-Portraitist

 

Brief Biography-John Downman, the portraitist, is assumed to have been born in Wales because of his close ties with Wrexham. His daughter was married and died in Wrexham. There is, however, speculation he was born in Devonshire but is considered a Welsh artist. In 1769, he attended the Royal Academy Schools, and in 1795 he became an Associate. He studied with  Benjamin West for a short time, and in 1773 he voyaged to Italy with Joseph Wright of Derby for two years. In 1777, he concentrated on portrait painting in Cambridge before moving to London, where he stayed for several years. His marriage was to the daughter of the composer William Jackson of Exeter, the organist at Exeter Cathedral. He spent time in Plymouth, Exeter, and Chester before settling in Wrexham in 1819, where he died in 1824. His portraits are of interest to this day because of the notes he sometimes wrote regarding the sitters. He would occasionally note their occupation, how they would have behaved, and the date and place of execution.

 

Click an Image to Enlarge

Master Page-
Anne Page-

Master Page-Anne Page and Slender

Robert-Duke
of Normandy

Robert-Duke of Normandy-in Prison

The Ghost of
Clytemnestra

The Ghost of Clytemnestra Awakening the Furies

Sarah And
Mary Rigby

Sarah And Mary Emma Rigby

John
Burke

John Burke

Mr R
Prinsep

Mr R Prinsep

Mrs R
Prinsep

Mrs R Prinsep

Unknown
Man

An Unknown Man

Elizabeth
Mortlock

Elizabeth Mortlock And Her Son

Witches from
Macbeth

Witches from Macbeth

Frederic
Hodges

Frederic Hodges

baron gustaf adam
von nolcken

baron gustaf adam von nolcken


benjamin west

benjamin west

the fourdrinier
family

the fourdrinier family

an unknown
man

Unknown Man