- William Seguier
William Seguier (pronounced [siː'gə] ; (
9 November 1772 –5 November 1843 ) was a Britishart dealer , painter, and official functionary in the art world.Early life
Seguier was born in the parish of
St Martin-in-the-Fields inLondon , the descendant of FrenchHuguenot refugees.Many of his relatives were involved in the arts on a professional level, from his father David, a picture dealer, to his uncle on the paternal side, the sculptor
Peter Seguier .Career
Initially Seguier worked as an artist; he may have been taught by
George Morland and perhaps evenWilliam Blake . However, his marriage to Anne Magdalene Clowden (a fellow Huguenot), gave him the independent means to establish a dealership, and he largely gave up painting thereafter.From 1806, when Lord Grosvenor consulted him on the purchase of the Agar collection, Seguier's clientele became ever more aristocratic and well-connected, including such names as Sir George Beaumont, Sir
Abraham Hume , SirRobert Peel and the Duke of Wellington.Beaumont and Grosvenor were also members of a group of connoisseurs and artists (including David Wilkie and
Benjamin Haydon ) that called itself "the clique", to which Seguier was admitted. Through such connections as these, the opportunistic Seguier secured a number of high-ranking official positions, beginning in 1805 with his appointment as Superintendent of the newly-formedBritish Institution . This was followed in 1820 with the post ofSurveyor of the King's Pictures , and upon the foundation of the National Gallery in 1824 he was appointed its Keeper.Later life
Seguier held these three positions until his death in 1843. He is buried in
Brompton Cemetery , London.References
*Laing, Alastair D. “Seguier, William (1772–1843).” "
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ". Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004.
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