Arthur William Devis

English, 1762–1822

Birth placeLondon, England

Death placeLondon, England

BiographyEnglish painter, born on 10 August 1762. His father Arthur (1711–87) was a successful painter of portraits and conversation pieces. This artistic background prompted young Arthur's choice of profession. He enrolled at the Royal Academy schools at the age of 12 and was exhibiting at the Royal Academy from 1775. In 1782, he embarked aboard the Antelope for a voyage to the East Indies, in the professional capacity of draughtsman. By 1784, the vessel had been wrecked off the Pellew Islands, where Devis and the rest of the crew remained stranded for a full year on an uninhabited island. Managing to build a boat themselves, the party was able to sail to Macao, although Devis was injured by arrows fired by hostile natives encountered on the way. After remaining with the rest of the Antelope's crew in Canton for a year, Devis proceeded to Bengal. He settled in India for ten years, establishing a modestly successful practice as a painter of portraits and local scenes. On his return to England in 1795 he concentrated on portraits but occasionally strayed into the field of genre, as represented by his much-admired 'Death of Nelson' in the National Maritime Museum, London, (Greenwich Hospital Collection). His final years were marred by financial problems until his death by apoplexy in London on 11 February 1822.

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