Archer James Oliver

Archer James Oliver ARA (1774 – 16 March 1842) was a British painter, principally active as a portraitist.

Life

The son of John and Anna Maria Oliver, he was christened at St Mary's church in Whitechapel on 3 October 1774.^[1] Oliver studied at the Royal Academy from 13 August 1790.^[2] He exhibited 210 paintings at the Royal Academy between 1791 and 1841, and 62 at the British Institution.^[3]^[4] In the latter part of his career he showed still lifes of fruit, nuts and dead game, and some biblical scenes, in addition to the portraits which had previously predominated.^[3]

His portraits were often engraved. Their subjects included the banker George Children; the politician Sir Berkeley Guise, 2nd Baronet; the songwriter Charles Morris; Robert Morris; the minister Vicesimus Knox; and the solicitor Robert Blake.^[2] In 1803-4 he exhibited some portraits of members of the Howard family in medieval costume, intended as designs for stained glass at Arundel Castle.^[3]

He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy on 2 November 1807.^[2]

References

^ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975: Archer James Oliver, 03 Oct 1774;" (citing ST MARY WHITECHAPEL,STEPNEY,LONDON,ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 94,694). FamilySearch. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c Lee, Sidney, ed. (1895). "Oliver, Archer James" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 42. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
^ ^a ^b ^c Graves, Algernon (1905). The Royal Academy: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors from its Foundations in 1769 to 1904. Vol. 6. London: Henry Graves. pp. 8–10.
^ Graves, Algernon (1884). A Dictionary of Artists who have exhibited works in the principal London Exhibitions of Oil Paintings from 1760 to 1880. London: George Bell & Sons. p. 174.

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1895). "Oliver, Archer James". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 42. London: Smith, Elder & Co.