Haydon, Benjamin ___ 1786-1846 ___ British ___ painter

BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY
Haydon's father was a printer and publisher, and his mother was the daughter of a priest. He was born in Plymouth and schooled locally, but then went to London to study at the Royal Academy where, aged 21, he exhibited 'Joseph and Mary resting on the Road to Egypt'. Later, he felt the Royal Academy did not give his picture 'Dentatus' sufficient prominence and this resulted in a long dispute. Indeed, in 1820, he tried to set up a school to rival the Royal Academy. Haydon, it seems, was always quarrelling (not least with patrons), and he was always struggling to make ends meet, especially after the annual income from his father was discontinued. While working on another large historical work, the 'Resurrection of Lazarus', he was arrested for debt but managed to avoid prison. In 1821, he married Mrs Hyman, a young widow with children; two years later he was imprisoned for debt. While inside, he petitioned Parliament to grant money for the decoration of churches and public buildings with paintings. When not in prison, he toured the country lecturing on painting and his ambition to see important buildings decorated with historical representations of glory. During a second imprisonment in 1827, he produced the picture 'Mock Election' for which King George IV gave him £500. Haydon's financial difficulties continued to beset his life, and, while still working on 'Alfred and the Trial by Jury', he killed himself. Haydon was probably an overly ambitious painter and a difficult person, but he was a good writer. He published a highly regarded autobiography, and he kept a lively journal which gives intimate glimpses of many prominent figures of the day.
A biography link
Wikipedia bio
The Diary Review - Thirst after grandeur

DIARY DATES, CONTENT DESCRIPTORS
1808-1846 ___ art self family people creativity prison

WEB TEXT LINKS
about
an extract
about

ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT LINKS
The Hungtington Library - possibly

SOME PUBLISHED TITLES
Life of Benjamin R. Haydon
The Diary of Benjamin Robert Haydon
 

May 2005, July 2008, April 2013
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IMPORTANT NOTES AND CAUTIONS: 1) The first line of basic information may be incomplete in several ways: some historical figures have different names (titles, pen-names); their birth and death dates may be unknown or uncertain (g - guess, c - circa); similarly, their occupations may be unknown, or they may have had other jobs; and, for early diarists, I've used 'British' a bit too freely. 2) The biographical summary may not be accurate. It was compiled quickly from various sources, mostly on the internet, and the facts were not checked anywhere near as rigorously as they would have been if they'd been intended for publication in a printed form. 3) The journal dates and descriptors (which are in no particular order) must be treated with caution: since I have not examined the diaries myself, the descriptors are only guesses based on bibliographies, anthologies and internet biographies. 4) For the biography and etext links, I have ignored any sites with charges, and I have avoided, wherever possible, those with pop-ups or too much advertising. I have limited myself to providing three etext links where there is some variety between them. 5) For the original manuscript links, I have limited myself to providing a maximum of two (although, for a few diarists, their original diaries are held in more than two places). 6) I have provided the titles - chosen randomly - for up to three printed editions of the diaries.