18C Gardens & Grounds

Philippe Mercier (French artist, 1689-1760) The Park at Belton, Lincolnshire

The Garden of the British Museum, Montague House c 1780

Paul Sandby (English map-maker turned landscape painter, 1731-1809) The Garden of the British Museum, Montague House c. 1780

Montagu House was the original British Museum housing the collection of Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753). Sloane had bequeathed his large collection of some 71,000 objects to the king, George II, to preserve it for the nation, a gift that was accepted in June 1753. An Act of Parliament set up the British Museum, which opened to the public on 15 January 1759. Trustees had purchased in Montagu House in 1755, which had been built for Ralph Montagu, who lived there with his family.  Behind the house was a large formal garden laid out in the French style with grass, gravel walks, fountain, & ornamental sculpture.

The gardens had become neglected by the time Montagu House was purchased for the museum; and the Trustees employed a gardener, Mr Bramley, for "Rolling, Mowing, Watering, Planting, Digging, Pruning the Trees." By the end of 1755, it was reported that "The whole garden has been mowed, weeded and cleared of the Anthills; the Gravel Walks and borders restored, the Slopes made less steep and together with the borders planted; the Kitchen Garden trenched; a Tool House built in it; and the Basin repaired."  Now restored, the gardens were opened to visitors on 11 March 1757, proving so popular; that the Trustees issued season tickets for admission to the restored garden, although, like the Museum, it was admission free.

Families & Friends - The Conversation Piece in the 18C English Countryside

A Conversation Piece is a small informal group portrait popular in the 18C, often showing people – sometimes families, sometimes groups of friends – interacting in outdoor, garden settings.

1730s Charles Philips (British artist, 1708-1747) The Watson-Wentworth and Finch Families

1730s Charles Philips (British artist, 1708-1747) Syllabub straight from the Cow The Russell and Revett Familes in a landscape

1730 Charles Philips (British artist, 1708-1747) Outdoor Conversation Piece of Thomas Hill of Harwood and his First Family

1730s Charles Philips (British artist, 1708-1747) The Russell and Revett Familes with Fishing Rods and Game

1730s Charles Philips (British artist, 1708-1747) Family by a Lake and a Classical Pavilion

1730s Charles Philips (British artist, 1708-1747) Family by a Lake and a Classical Pavilion Detail

1730s Charles Philips (British artist, 1708-1747) Sir William Strickland and his family

1769 George Stubbs (English artist, 1724-1806) The Milbanke and Melbourne Families

1776 George Stubbs (English artist, 1724-1806) The Reverend Robert Carter Thelwall and His Family

1780 George Stubbs (English artist, 1724-1806) The Wedgewood Family

1780 William Williams (British artist) Conversation Piece, before a house in Monument Lane, Edgbaston

Arthur Devis (1712-1787) paints Families & Friends in Gardens & Parks in the English Countryside

1738 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Breaking-Up Day at Dr Clayton's School at Salford

1740 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Sir John Trevelyan (1735-1828), 4th Bt, with Wife Louisa Simond, Lady Trevelyan, Son Sir John Trevelyan (1761-1846), 5th Bt, & amp; Daughter Helena Trevelyan

1740s Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) A Gentleman Lady handing a sprig of honeysuckle

1740 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Thomas Lister and Family Park at Gisburne

1747 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Richard, Mary and Peter, Children of Peter and Mary du Dog

1749 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Mr and Mrs Van Harthals and Son

1749 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Robert and Elizabeth Gwillym and Their family, of Atherton Hall, Lancashire

1749 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) The Thomas Cave Family

1751 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) The James Family

1754 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) The Clavey family in Their garden at Hampstead

1758 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Alicia and Jane Clarke

1761 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Sir John Shaw and his Family in the Park at Eltham Lodge, Kent

1763 Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Francis Vincent Mercy His Wife, and Daughter Ann, of Weddington Hall, Warwickshire

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787)  Portrait of Sir George and Lady Strickland in the Park in Boynton Hall, 1751

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Henry Fiennes Clinton, 9th Earl of Lincoln, With His wife Catherine and his son George on the great terrace at Oatlands

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) On the grounds of Ranelagh

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Sir Nathaniel Curzon and Lady Caroline

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) The Edgar Children

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Two Children & amp; Dog in a Park

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) The Hon. Robert Cholmondeley, His Wife and son in a garden, c.1754-55

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Arthur Holdsworth Conversing with Thomas Taylor and Captain Stancombe by the River Dart, by,

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Rev. John Allen and Captain Chester at Okeover Hall, Staffordshire, 1747

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) and Thomas Lister Family at Gisburne Park, 1740-41

Arthur Devis (Inglese artist, 1712-1787) Two Children and a Dog in a Park

18C Families in Gardens & Parks

Francis Hayman Portrait of  Samuel Richardson the-Novelist 1684-1761 with his 2nd Family 1740

John Wootton, The Beauchamp-Proctor Family and Friends at Langley Park, Norfolk, 1749

Benjamin Ferrers (1695–1732) A Family on the garden terrace of a country house

Benjamin Ferrers (1695–1732) Three Ladies of the Leman Family & their Dogs on a Garden Terrace 1728

 British School 18C A Family in a Landscape 1750

Francis Wheatley (1747-1801) A Family Group in a Park Landscape 1775

 Hugh Barron (1745–1791) Portrait of Mr Leroy with his Daughter

Hugh Barron (1745–1791) The Children of George Bond of Ditchleys 1768.

Hugh Barron (1747-1791) Portrait of a young boy holding a cricket bat with a young girl and a spaniel

Hugh Barron (1747-1791) John 2nd Earl of Egmont (1711-1770) and His Family

Johann Heinrich Strumpff A Family Portrait 1766 

Unknown Artist Portrait of the Sayer Family

Josef Frans Nollekens (Flemish-born British artist, 1702-1748) Playing with a Hobby Horse on a Garden Terrace 1741-47

Josef Frans Nollekens (Flemish-born British artist, 1702-1748) Portrait of a Family on a Garden Terrace (1740)

1743 Edwardy Haytley (English artist, (1740-61)  The Montagu family at their Sandleford Priory estate in Berkshire

Philippe Mercier (1689-1760) Lord Tyrconnel (on the left) with his family in the grounds of Belton House

1744-46 Edwardy Haytley (English artist, (1740-61) The Brockman Family at Beachborough Temple Pond

1740s Edwardy Haytley (English artist, (1740-61) The Brockman family at Beachborough Manor

1756 Arthur Devis (English artist, 1712-1787) Edward Gordon, His Sister Mrs Miles and Her Husband in their Garden at Bromley

1773 Edward Smith (English artist) An Angling Party in the Garden (perhaps The Willyams Family at Carnanton)

Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder, called the Kasseler (1722-1789), Portrait of the Timmermann Family on the Garden Terrace