Anthony Devis facts for kids
Anthony Devis (born March 18, 1729 – died April 26, 1816) was an English artist. He was known for painting landscapes, which are pictures of nature and outdoor scenes. He mostly used watercolors and oil paints. He lived and worked in London for much of his life.
Anthony Devis was born in Preston, a town in England. His father, who was also named Anthony Devis, worked as a carpenter and was a town leader. Anthony junior was the older of two sons from his father's second marriage. He also had two older half-brothers from his father's first marriage. One of these half-brothers was Arthur Devis, who was a famous portrait painter. Anthony Devis the younger never got married.
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Early Painting Years
When Anthony Devis was young, around 1742, records show he was already a painter in London. However, his first known paintings are from later, around 1760. Between 1760 and 1780, he created many landscape paintings. He often painted for wealthy landowners in Northern England.
He showed his artwork at important exhibitions. He displayed paintings at the Free Society of Artists in 1761 and 1763. He also showed his work at the Royal Academy in 1772 and 1781. Most of his early paintings showed real places, like specific buildings or landscapes. Later in his career, he started painting more imagined scenes with classical buildings or features.
The Famous Frog Service
Around the same time Anthony Devis was painting, Empress Catherine the Great of Russia had a special project. She was building a new palace between her main city, St Petersburg, and her summer home. This new palace was called Chesme Palace. It was built in a marshy area, so it was also known as La Grenouillère, which means "the Frog Marsh."
Catherine wanted a special dinner and dessert set for her new palace. She ordered it from a famous English company called Josiah Wedgwood. This set was huge! It was made for fifty people and originally had 944 pieces. These pieces were decorated with an amazing 1,222 different views.
What Made the Frog Service Special?
The dinner set was made from "Queen's ware," which was Wedgwood's best type of fine earthenware. Usually, large sets for royalty were made from porcelain. So, getting an order for such a big earthenware set was a huge success for Wedgwood.
Each piece of the set was hand-painted. It showed scenes of country houses and famous places from all over Britain. Every piece also had a small, green frog symbol on it. This special set became known as the Frog Service. It was made between 1773 and 1774.
The Frog Service is considered one of Wedgwood's greatest works. It also gives us a valuable look at what Britain looked like during that time. Many of the designs for these paintings came from Anthony Devis's own artwork. Even though Wedgwood lost some money making the set, the fame and honor it brought them were worth it.
Later Life and Retirement
In 1780, Anthony Devis decided to retire from painting. He moved to a house called Albury House, near Guildford, in Surrey. There, he started a collection of paintings and interesting objects. He even built a special room just for painting on a hill near his home in Albury.
Anthony Devis passed away in 1816. He was buried at Albury Old Church.
