Francis Bourgeois

Sir Peter Francis Lewis Bourgeois RA (November 1753 – 8 January 1811) was an English landscape painter and history painter, and court painter to king George III of the United Kingdom.^[1]^[2]

In the late 18th century he became an art dealer and collector in association with Frenchman Noël Desenfans. The pair were commissioned by Polish king Stanisław August Poniatowski to compile a collection of paintings, which they spent five years doing, but Stanisław's exile in 1795 meant the contract could not be completed and they were left with a large collection of paintings. Bourgeois outlived Desenfans and bequeathed the art to Dulwich College with an additional £2000 to build a permanent building to house it. This became the Dulwich Picture Gallery, England's first purpose-built public art gallery.^[3]

^ Redgrave, Samuel (1878). "Bourgeois, Sir Francis". A dictionary of artists of the English school. G. Bell and sons. pp. 49–50.
^ "SIR FRANCIS BOURGEOIS, R.A." The Art Journal. 43: 344. 1891.
^ Dunn, Daisy (2 December 2010). "The history of Dulwich Picture Gallery". The Daily Telegraph.

[1] Redgrave, Samuel (1878). "Bourgeois, Sir Francis". A dictionary of artists of the English school. G. Bell and sons. pp. 49–50.

[2] "SIR FRANCIS BOURGEOIS, R.A." The Art Journal. 43: 344. 1891.

[3] Dunn, Daisy (2 December 2010). "The history of Dulwich Picture Gallery". The Daily Telegraph.

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