Bristol
What was the working location for George Cumberland from 1801 to 1848?
George Cumberland George Cumberland ( 1754–1848 ) was an English art collector , writer and poet . He was a lifelong friend and supporter of William Blake , and like him was an experimental printmaker . He was also an amateur watercolourist , and one of the earliest members of the Bristol School of artists . He made use of his wide circle of connections to help its other members , in particular assisting and influencing Edward Bird and Francis Danby . Early life . Cumberland , whose father was also called George , was born in London in 1754 . From 1769–85 he was an insurance clerk with the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation . In 1772 he also attended the Royal Academy Schools and exhibited at the Academy in 1782 and 1783 , but failed to be elected an Associate in 1784 . He formed a low opinion of the Academy and attacked it in various essays . Along with John Flaxman and Thomas Stothard , Cumberland joined the social circle of William Blake within a year of Blake becoming a student at the Royal Academy Schools in 1779 . This circle also included the engraver William Sharp . The young Cumberland held radical views ; with Stothard and Sharp , he joined the Society for Constitutional Information , becoming a friend of its leader , John Horne Tooke , and attracting the attention of government spies . However , when Cumberland witnessed the Gordon Riots of 1780 at first hand , he reacted with horror . Cumberland was to be a lifelong friend and supporter of Blake . As early as 1780 a contribution by Cumberland to the Morning Chronicle praised Blakes first exhibit at the Academy , the watercolour The Death of Earl Goodwin . Cumberland would often seek to provide clients for Blake , as in 1798 when he tried to persuade Tooke to use Blake as the engraver for a new edition of Tookes book Diversions of Purleigh . Cumberland shared an interest with Blake in printmaking . In 1784 they both experimented with new methods of printing etched texts . In that year Cumberland printed an account of his New Mode of Printing , although it does not seem to have been a practical commercial proposition . In printing his own works Cumberland would come to rely on Blakes technical advice on copperplate and lithography . Italy . In 1784 Cumberland received an inheritance providing him with an annual income of £300 , enabling him to leave his job . From 1785–90 he travelled in Europe , mainly living in Rome . He also visited Paris and Florence , and in 1786 visited Switzerland with Charles Long , 1st Baron Farnborough . In 1787 he eloped with Mrs Elizabeth Cooper née Price and took her back to Italy . In Rome he joined a circle of artists which included John Deare , Robert Fagan , Charles Grignion the Younger and Samuel Woodforde . Cumberland studied the works of Raphael and the engravers Marcantonio Raimondi and Giulio Bonasone and formed a collection of prints and objects , in particular a large collection of Bonasone engravings . Publications . After Cumberlands return from Italy in 1790 he first lived near Southampton , where he continued to build his art collection . From 1793–98 he lived in Egham , Surrey . In 1793 he published Poem on the Landscapes of Great Britain and the illustrated poem Lewina , the Maid of Snowdon . In the same year he published Some Anecdotes of the Life of Julio Bonasoni , prefaced by A Plan for the Improvement of the Arts in England , which contained a proposal for the formation of a national gallery . His Italian studies bore further fruit in 1796 when he published Thoughts on Outline , a set of theoretical principles for classical art illustrated with 24 designs by Cumberland on classical subjects . Cumberland etched 16 of the designs and commissioned Blake to etch the other 8 , with Blake providing the inscriptions for all 24 . Blake also provided Cumberland with advice on the engraving process . Another of Cumberlands friends was Thomas Johnes , who was influenced by Cumberland to become a translator of medieval French chronicles . In 1796 Cumberland produced An Attempt to Describe Hafod , a guide to Johness estate of Hafod in Wales . Cumberland commissioned Blake to engrave a map to accompany the guide . In 1798 Cumberland published a utopian novel , The Captive of the Castle of Sennaar . He called his utopia Sophis , setting it in Africa , and gave it classical Greek virtues but without war , slavery or sexual inequality . Fearing that its radicalism would antagonise the authorities , Cumberland withdrew the novel , though not before he had sent a copy to another of his acquaintances , Isaac DIsraeli . Bristol School . In 1803 Cumberland moved to Weston-super-Mare in Somerset , and then in 1807 to Bristol where he lived for the rest of his life . He became one of the earliest members of the informal group of artists which has become known as the Bristol School , and one of the first to take part in the groups excursions to sketch the scenery around Bristol . Cumberlands daughter Eliza and probably also his son George Cumberland , Jr . sometimes joined these excursions . His friend Stothard also participated occasionally . Cumberland believed that painting should be directly from nature ; he produced small landscape studies which avoided the picturesque . His watercolours were similar in style to those of his friend John Linnell . It was Cumberlands son George , a pupil of Linnell , who introduced Linnell to Blake in 1818 . Cumberland became a close friend of Edward Bird , and godfather to his son . He did not have the resources to be Birds patron , but he would lend Bird items from his art collection to study . In 1814 when Bird asked for help in gaining a royal commission , Cumberland introduced him to Charles Long , who then arranged with the Prince Regent for Bird to conduct royal portrait studies aboard the royal yacht . On Birds death in 1819 Cumberland successfully petitioned the Royal Academy to provide a pension for Birds widow . Cumberland helped many of the Bristol artists through recommendations and introductions to his influential friends . In 1820 when Francis Danby exhibited The Upas Tree of Java at the British Institution , Cumberland exerted his influence to promote its favourable reception . In 1822 when Danby , Branwhite and Johnson were about to visit London , Cumberland ensured that Thomas Lawrence , Thomas Stothard and others were alerted . There is evidence from their correspondence that Cumberland often suggested subjects for Danby to paint . It has been suggested that the influence of Blake may also have been transmitted to Danby . Danbys second exhibited painting was Disappointed Love , shown at the Royal Academy in 1821 . Its subject is reminiscent of Blakes Songs of Innocence and of Experience , while the works neoclassical figure of a girl evokes Cumberlands Thoughts on Outline . A later watercolour , A Scene from A Midsummer Nights Dream ( 1832 ) is very reminiscent of Blakes illustrations for The Book of Thel . Cumberland had been the recipient from Blake of one of the 16 early copies of The Book of Thel and one of , only five of which now survive . He also had copies of America a Prophecy , Europe a Prophecy , The Song of Los , Visions of the Daughters of Albion and Songs of Innocence and of Experience . Blake died in 1827 . The last engraving that Blake made was a visiting card for Cumberland , who had sent the plate to Blake for him to decorate . Blake did so by surrounding Cumberlands name with figures intended to represent the Seasons , including children hoop rolling and flying kites . Final years . Cumberland was also a collector of fossils and from 1810 was an honorary member of the Geological Society . In 1826 he published Reliquiae conservatae , a study of some fossil encrinites . In 1827 he published Essay on the Utility of Collecting the Best Works of the Ancient Engravers of the Italian School , which catalogued his collection of prints . He presented his collections to the Royal Academy and the British Museum . Cumberlands wife Elizabeth died on 2 February 1837 . He died on 8 August 1848 in Bristol ; they were both buried at St Georges Church , Brandon Hill . They had two sons , George and Sydney , and three daughters , Lavinia , Aurora and Eliza . External links . - Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery