George Henry Harlow

George Henry Harlow (10 June 1787 – 4 February 1819) was an English painter known mostly for his portraits.

Life Harlow was born in St. James's Street, London, the posthumous son of a China merchant, who after some years' residence in the East had died about five months before his son's birth, leaving a widow with five infant daughters. Harlow was sent when quite young to Dr. Barrow's classical school in Soho Square, and subsequently to Mr. Roy's school in Burlington Street. He was for a short time at Westminster School, but having shown a predilection for painting, he was placed under Henry De Cort, the landscape-painter. He next worked under Samuel Drummond, A.R.A., the portrait-painter, but after about a year entered the studio of Sir Thomas Lawrence (president of the Royal Academy). This step is said to have been taken at the suggestion of Georgiana, duchess of Devonshire; but Harlow's natural affinity to Lawrence's style in painting would be quite sufficient to account for his choice. Harlow paid Lawrence handsomely for his admission and the right to copy, but according to the contract was not entitled to instruction. In 1814 he painted a set of portraits of the actor Charles Mathews in various characters, which attracted general attention. It was engraved by W. Greatbach for Edmund Yates' Life of Mathews. A commission from the music teacher Thomas Welsh to paint Siddons as Queen Katharine in Shakespeare's Henry VIII. This was begun from memory, but subsequently the actress, at Welsh's request, gave the painter a sitting. While painting the portrait, Harlow decided to expand the picture into the "Trial Scene" from the same play, introducing portraits of the various members of the Kemble family and others. Welsh, though not consulted by Harlow concerning this change of plan, behaved generously. The picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1817, and excited great public interest. It was neither well composed nor well executed, and owed much to the criticism and suggestions of Fuseli, whose portrait Harlow was painting at the time. Still, the portrait of Mrs. Siddons herself as the queen will remain one of the most striking figures in English art.