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' Much Ado about Nothing.' There is a full-length portrait by him of George IV. when Prince of Wales in Freemasons' Hall. His works were engraved by Bartolozzi, J. R. Smith, and others. He was in 1771 elected an associate, and in 1777 a full member, of the Academy. He had some years previously entered Exeter College, Oxford, but he continued to paint after he had taken his degree, and in 1783, when he is first described as ' The Reverend ' in the catalogue, he exhibited his first sacred subject, ' An Angel carrying the Spirit of a Child to Paradise.' He only exhibited once again, in 1785. He held successively three livings, was a prebendary of Lincoln Cathedral, and chaplain to the Prince Regent. It does not appear whether by conscientious, or what other reasons, he was led in 1790 to resign his Academy honours, and to give up his professional practice, but the few paintings he after- wards produced as an amateur, and did dot exhibit, were of a religious class, though some of his early engraved works were not unexceptionable in character. He died at Brasted Place, Kent, March 20, 1814 He married a niece of Dr. Turton, a physi- cian of large practice, the bulk of whose ample fortune went to the painter's second son. He was an object of Peter Pindar's merciless satire.
PETERSON, Fbbdbrio, enamel paint- er. He was a pupil of Boit, and practised in London at the beginning of the 18th century. He died in 1729.
PEt HER, Abraham, called 'Moonlight Pettier/ landscape painter. Was born at Chichester in 1756. He early showed a great genius for music, and then took a turn for painting, and was instructed by George Smith. He soon gained distinction as an artist. He exhibited at the Academy in 1784, a 'Moonlight;' next, in 178&, ' Mount Vesuvius,' and the following year, ' Ship on Fire at Night, in a Gale of Wind,' and continued to exhibit at intervals up to 1811, when he sent his last work, an
- Eruption of Mount Vesuvius.' He chose
rural scenes, selecting the beautiful. His colouring was clear and good. He had great power of handling; his distances treated with great truth and sweetness ; but he had little idea of light and shade. His favourite subjects were effects of artificial light and moonlight. A picture called the * Harvest Moon,' was the subject of much contemporary praise. He was an ingenious man, and good mechanic. He made telescopes, microscopes, and lectured on electricity^ using instruments of his own making, added to which he was an excel- lent musician. He was a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists. Died at Southampton, April 13, 1812, aged 56, leaving a widow and nine children. 328
PETHER, Sebastian, landscape paint- er. He was the eldest son of the foregoing, and painted subjects of the same class. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1814, 'View from Chelsea Bridge,' the ' Destruction of Drury Lane Theatre,' and then only once again till 1826, when it was evident that friendly help was given to him, as he painted on commission for Sir John F. Leicester. Bart. ? * A Caravan over- taken by a Sand Storm in the Desert,' and for the Koyal Manchester Institution, the ' Destruction of a City by a Volcano ; ' but these were his last exhibited works. He married very young, and had a large family, whose support was a hard task for his pencil. His only purchasers were the dealers ; but the prices he received did not keep his family from the most painful privations, and his talent missed opportunity for suc- cess. After a short illness he sank under an inflammatory attack, and died at Batter- sea, March 18, 1844, aged 54. He was a well-educated man, ana gifted with a me- chanical talent. A subscription was raised for his destitute family.
PETHER. William, mezzo-tint en- graver. Was Dorn at Carlisle in 1731, and was cousin of the foregoing Abraham Pether. In 1756 he received a premium from the Society of Arts. He was a mem- ber of the Free Society of Artists, 1763. He commenced art as a portrait painter, practising both in oil and in miniature, and occasionally exhibiting miniatures at the Royal Academy from 1781 to 1794; he also painted some tolerable landscapes. But his true art was mezzo-tint, which he studied under Thomas Frye, and soon gained great distinction. His portraits in oil are rare; they are firmly and power- fully painted. His miniatures are spirited works; in mezzo-tint, his works are de- servedly prized, well drawn, the expression well maintained, but in treatment rather cold and hard. He drew and mezzo-tinted the portraits of the three Smiths of Chi- chester, and produced mezzo-tint plates after Rembrandt, Dow, Teniers, Wright of Derby, and others. He died about 1795.
PETHER, Thomas, wax modeller. He appears to have been a son of Abraham Pether. He exhibited portraits in wax and in crayons with the Free Society of Artists, 1772 to 1775.
PETIT, The Rev. Louis John, amateur. Was educated at Cambridge, and took his B.A. degree at Trinity College in 1823. He was an honorary member of the Insti- tute of British Architects, and read some papers at their meetings; a member of the Archaeological Institute, and a clever sketcher in water-colours, illustrating many of his antiquarian papers. He also pro- duced some good etchings. He died at Lichfield, December 1, 1868, aged 67. He
