Stephen Elmer

Stephen Elmer (baptised 1715 – 1796) was an English painter.

Elmer resided at Farnham, Surrey, where he was a maltster. He turned his hand to painting, and developed a special skill for depicting still life and dead game. He was a member of the Society of Artists in 1763, and exhibited numerous pictures up to 1772, when he first began to exhibit at the Royal Academy. He was elected an Associate of the Academy later that year. From that time to 1795, the year before his death, he contributed a great number of pictures, which were very popular, and were painted in a bold, free manner, and with great truth to nature. He did not confine himself entirely to still life, occasionally painting genre pictures, such as "The Miser" (engraved by B. Granger), "The Politician" (engraved by T. Ryder), scripture pieces, such as "The Last Supper", formerly over the altar, but now in the vestry of Farnham Church, and portraits. Some of his still-life pictures were engraved by J. Scott, J. F. Miller, C. Turner, and others.