William Shenstone
(1714-1763), Poet and landscape gardenerEarly Georgian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 9 portraits
'A large, heavy, fat man, shy and reserved with strangers', the poet William Shenstone, now seldom read, was from the Midlands and a bachelor. His first poems were published whilst he studied at Oxford, although he left without completing his degree. Of private means, he inherited the farming estate of Leasowes, near Birmingham, from his guardian in 1745. He retired there and continued to write poetry in a pastoral vein. Shenstone coined the term 'landscape gardener', and created one of the earliest and most influential landscape gardens, his ferme ornée. He diverted streams to create waterfalls, and stage-managed the landscape to create views that unfolded from carefully chosen vantage points.
by Thomas Ross
oil on canvas, feigned oval, 1738
NPG 4386
by Edward Alcock
oil on canvas, 1760
NPG 263
after Unknown artist
line engraving, published 1764
NPG D5961
by Unknown artist
line engraving, circa 1764
NPG D14714
by John Hall, published by James Dodsley, after Thomas Ross
line engraving, 1780 (1738)
NPG D5959
by Francis Engleheart
stipple engraving, 1821
NPG D40693
by R. Clamp, published by E. & S. Harding
stipple engraving, published 11 April 1795
NPG D19347
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