Samuel Woodforde

Samuel Woodforde (29 March 1763 – 27 July 1817) was an English painter.

Life Woodforde was born at Castle Cary, Somerset. He was the second son of Heighes Woodforde, an accountant of Ansford, and his wife Anne. He was a lineal descendant of the painter Samuel Woodford, and nephew of the diarist, James Woodforde. He was supported by the banker Henry Hoare of Stourhead, Wiltshire and his family. On 8 March 1782, he became a student at the Royal Academy Schools and started exhibiting pictures in 1784. He contributed no less than 133 pictures to the Royal Academy and 39 at the British Institution.

Richard Hoare granted Woodforde £100 a year, which allowed him to travel to Italy in 1786. He spent most of his time in Rome, studying the works of Raphael, Michelangelo, and Paolo Veronese. He also visited Venice and Florence before returning to London in 1791.