Few artists have climbed as rapidly as George Stubbs from provincial obscurity to metropolitan fame, though his success did not come early, nor was it easily achieved. Having lived through three-quarters of the Eighteenth Century, his star waned in old age but he retained to the end his abilities and ambitions.
Minority 1724-1744
Stubbs was born in the rapidly expanding port of Liverpool in 1724,
the son of a hard-working but not particularly wealthy
leather-dresser. As a mere five-year-old, he was said to have shown
precocious talent for drawing, but the sturdy mercantilism of
Liverpool had little respect for art and Stubbs senior told his son
(with some justice) that to take up the life of a painter was about
as safe …
2548 words
Citation: Blake, Robin James. "George Stubbs". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 April 2006 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11705, accessed 24 November 2024.]
