Bonington, Richard Parkes

(born Oct. 25, 1802, Arnold, Eng.—died Sept. 23, 1828, London) British painter active in France. In 1818 he went to Paris to study with Antoine-Jean Gros. His skill in watercolour, a novelty in Paris, attracted many imitators. He exhibited at the famous “English” Salon of 1824 and won a gold medal. With John Constable and J.M.W. Turner, he popularized the oil sketch, a rapidly executed record of the transitory effects of nature. He became influential in England and France as a master of the Romantic movement and a technical innovator. His death at age 26 cut short a brilliant career.

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