Gilbert Sir John

Gilbert, Sir John (1817-1897), a celebrated historical painter, weis born at Blackheath. He exhibited his first picture (a water-colour) in 1836 at the Suffolk Street Gallery, the subject being The Arrest of Lord Hastings by the Protector, Richard, Duke of York, and from this time onwards continued to send oil-paintings to the British Institution and the Royal Academy. He was knighted in 1871, in which year he was also elected President of the Society of Painters in Water Colours. He became A.R.A. in 1872, and R.A. in 1876. Among his earlier works were Don Quixote giving Advice to Sancho Panza, The Education of Gil Blas, and Othello Before the Senate. He painted many Shakespearean scenes, and contributed to illustrated editions of many English classics. Among his more recent paintings the best are, perhaps, The Doge of Venice in Council (1876), King Henry VI (1880), The Morning of Agincourt (1884), Sir Launcelot (1887), and Ego et Bex Meus (1889).