Gilpin, Sawrey

, a late artist, and a descendant of the Apostle of the North, was born at Carlisle in 1733, from whence, after having acquired some relish for the art from his father, who was a captain in the army, he came to London, and was articled to a ship-painter. His first interesting works were composed of some market groups which struck his eye from his window. Soon after he went to Newmarket, being encouraged by the late William, duke of Cumberland, where he executed many compositions which might have vied with Hogarth in point of character. In the duke’s stud he acquired that knowledge of the horse, which he afterwards displayed with such superior spirit and beauty; and when we see with what felicity he applied it to the higher departments of the art, to historic compositions in the triuiph of Camillas, the election of Darius, the story of Phaeton, we must lament that such talents should have been drawn aside to the meaner employment of horse-portrait painting, which occupied too much of his valuable life.

His drawings of animals, in pencil and water-colours, display a degree of taste and skill seldom attained. Many of his most capital pictures are in the possession of noblemen and collectors; his chef-d’oeuvre, a group of tigers, is | in the possession of S. Whitbread, esq. The etchings of cattle which accompany his brother’s descriptive writings, are his productions. As a man he was equally esteemed for probity of character and simplicity of manner, and, as a member of the royal academy, he added honour to the institution. He died at Brompton, March 8, 1807, three years after his learned and amiable brother, the rev. William Gilpin. ¹