| 1 | Name: | Henry Benbridge | |
| Year Elected: | 1771 | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 10/20/1743 | ||
| Death Date: | 1/25/1812 | ||
Henry Benbridge (20 October 1743–25 January 1812) was a portraitist, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1771. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began his studies at the Academy of Philadelphia from an early age, graduating in 1758. Benbridge then studied portraiture locally before receiving his father’s inheritance and moving to Rome to further his artistic education. There he is thought to have studied under Pompeo Batoni, whose influence is evident in Benbridge’s work. Benbridge’s career took off when his 1768 portrait of General Pascal Paoli appeared at the court of the Grand Duke of Florence and then at the Free Society of Artists in England the following year. Benbridge left for England shortly thereafter and exhibited two portraits at the Royal Academy in 1770 before returning to America. Back home, Benbridge moved from Philadelphia to Charleston, South Carolina. He supported the revolutionary cause which resulted in his capture and imprisonment by British forces in 1780 before being released and returning to Philadelphia where he painted his portrait of Bushrod Washington. After the war, Benbridge returned to Charleston and kept busy painting portraits until moving to Norfolk, Virginia about a decade later. In Norfolk, he instructed the now far more renowned Thomas Sully in portrait painting. It is unknown where Benbridge died, however he was buried in Christ Churchyard in Philadelphia. (ANB) | |||