The Rev. William Atkinson, Wearing a Broad-Brimmed Hat

Art Historical Context

In the intimate graphite drawing *The Rev. William Atkinson Wearing a Broad-Brim Hat* (ca. 1760–62), British portraitist George Romney captures the likeness of the Reverend William Atkinson remarkable sensitivity. Created when Romney was in his mid-20s, just as he was honing his skills after his apprenticeship, this 6 x 7 1/4-inch sheet exemplifies the artist's early mastery of portraiture. The broad-brimmed hat, a distinctive feature highlighted in the title and tags, draws the eye, suggesting Atkinson's clerical or perhaps nonconformist persona in mid-18th-century England. Romney, renowned ...

About the Artist

George Romney|The Reverend William Atkinson · 1734–1802

George Romney (1734–1802) was a British portrait painter who, alongside Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough, formed the triumvirate of great English portraitists in the second half of the eighteenth century. Born in Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire, he received his early training from the itinerant portrait painter Christopher Steele before moving to London in 1762. Romney quickly establishe...