Francis Hayman

Francis Hayman brought the French Rococo into English painting, with lively conversation pieces, portrait groups and theatrical scenes. He is best known for the decorative paintings he made for the supper boxes at Vauxhall Gardens in London.

He was born in Exeter in 1708 and began as a scene painter at the Drury Lane Theatre. He illustrated editions of Shakespeare, Milton and Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, and painted David Garrick as Richard III. He was a founding member of the Royal Academy in 1768 and its first librarian. He taught the young Thomas Gainsborough. He died in London in 1776.

Jonathan Tyers and His Family, a portrait of the owner of Vauxhall Gardens, shows his relaxed, informal groups.