Editing Martin Archer Shee

{{Short description|Irish painter and president of the Royal Academy (1769–1850)}}
{{Similar names|Archer Shee (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
 |honorific_prefix = [[Sir]]
 |name             = Martin Archer Shee
 |honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|PRA|FRS|size=100%}}
 |image            = Martin Archer Shee selfportrait.jpg
 |office           = [[President of the Royal Academy]]
 |term             = January 1830 – 13 August 1850
 |predecessor      = [[Sir Thomas Lawrence]]
 |successor        = [[Sir Charles Lock Eastlake]]
 |caption          = ''[[Self-portrait]]'' (1794)
 |birth_date       = {{birth date|1769|12|23|df=y}}
 |birth_place      = [[Dublin]], [[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]]
 |death_date       = {{death date and age|1850|08|13|1769|12|23|df=y}}
 |death_place      = [[Brighton]], [[Sussex]], England
 |known_for        = Portraiture
}}

'''Sir Martin Archer Shee''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|PRA|FRS}} (23 December 1769 – 13 August 1850) was an Irish [[portrait painter]]. He also served as the [[president of the Royal Academy]].

==Early life==
He was born in [[Dublin]], of an old Irish Roman Catholic family, the son of Martin Shee, a merchant, who regarded the profession of a painter as an unsuitable occupation for a descendant of the Shees. His son Martin nevertheless studied art in the [[Royal Dublin Society]] and came to London. There, in 1788, he was introduced by [[Edmund Burke]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=KdgPAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA483 THE EUROPEAN MAGAZINE, AND LONDON REVIEW: ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE LITERATURE, HISTORY, BIOGEAPHY, POLITICS, ART, MANNERS, AND AMUSEMENTS OF THE AGE.]</ref> to [[Joshua Reynolds]], on whose advice he studied in the schools of the [[Royal Academy of Arts]].

==Career==
In 1789, he exhibited his first two pictures, the ''Head of an Old Man'' and ''Portrait of a Gentleman.'' Over the next ten years he steadily increased in practice. He was chosen an associate of the Royal Academy in 1798.

In 1789, he married Mary, eldest daughter of James Power of [[Youghal]], and in 1800 he was elected a Royal Academician. He moved to [[George Romney (painter)|George Romney]]'s former house at 32 [[Cavendish Square]], and set up as his successor. In addition to his portraits he executed various subjects and historical works, such as ''Lavinia'', ''Belisarius'', his diploma picture ''Prospero and Miranda'', and the ''Daughter of Jephthah''.{{cn|date=December 2022}}

===Writing===
[[File:William IV by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg|thumb|''[[Portrait of the Duke of Clarence]]''. Portrait of [[William IV|William, Duke of Clarence]], 1800]]
[[File:Portrait of Henry Grattan -Martin Archer Shee .PNG|thumb|Portrait of the Irish politician [[Henry Grattan]], a friend of Archer Shee.]]

In 1805 he published a poem consisting of ''Rhymes on Art'', and a second part followed in 1809. [[Lord Byron]] spoke well of it in his ''English Bards and Scotch Reviewers''. Shee published another small volume of verse in 1814, entitled ''The Commemoration of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and other Poems'', but this was less successful. He also produced a [[tragedy]], ''[[Alasco]]'', set in [[Poland]]. The play was accepted at [[Covent Garden]], but was refused a licence, on the grounds that it contained treasonable allusions, and Shee angrily resolved to make his appeal to the public. He carried out his threat in 1824, but ''Alasco'' was still on the list of unacted dramas in 1911. He also published two novels – ''[[Oldcourt (novel)|Oldcourt]]'' (1829, in three volumes) and ''Cecil Hyde'' (1834).{{cn|date=December 2022}}

On the death of Sir [[Thomas Lawrence]] in 1830, Shee was chosen president of the Royal Academy in his stead and shortly afterwards received a [[knighthood]]. In 1831, he was elected a [[Fellow of the Royal Society]]. {{cn|date=December 2022}}

In an examination before the parliamentary committee of 1836 concerning the functions of the Royal Academy, he ably defended its rights. He continued to paint till 1845, when illness made him retire to Brighton. He was deputised for at the Academy by [[J. M. W. Turner]], who had appointed him a trustee of the projected Turner almshouse. From 1842 to 1849, he was the first president of the [[Royal Birmingham Society of Artists|Birmingham Society of Artists]].<ref name="RBSA-1933-Spring">{{cite journal|last=Anon|year=1933|title=The Spring Exhibition, 1933 (catalogue)|publisher=RBSA}}</ref>

==Death==
Shee died in [[Brighton]] in 1850 and was buried in the western extension to [[St Nicholas' Church, Brighton|St Nicholas' Churchyard]] in Brighton.  His headstone remains, but has been laid flat and moved to the perimeter of the site.<ref name="Dale8">{{cite book|last=Dale|first=Antony|title=Brighton Cemeteries|publisher=Brighton Borough Council|location=Brighton|year=1991|page=8}}</ref>

==Personal life==
{{Unsourced|section|date=December 2022}}
Shee had three sons, who became successful barristers, and three daughters.  

Descendants of one of the sons was [[George Archer-Shee]], whose story inspired ''[[The Winslow Boy]]'', a play written by Sir [[Terence Rattigan]] and his older half-brother, [[Martin Archer-Shee]] MP. 

Shee's descendant, Mary Archer-Shee, supports the campaign for the fulfilment of Turner's wishes for his bequests.

==Written works by Shee (selected)==
*''[https://archive.org/details/elementsofartpoe00sheeuoft Elements of art, a poem; in six cantos]'' (1809)
*''[https://archive.org/details/rhymesonartorre00sheegoog Rhymes on Art; Or, The Remonstrance of a Painter: in Two Parts]'' (1809)
*''[https://archive.org/details/commemorationre00sheegoog The Commemoration of Reynolds: In Two Parts]'' (1814)
*''Oldcourt'': [https://archive.org/details/oldcourtnovel01shee Volume 1], [https://archive.org/details/oldcourtnovel02shee Volume 2], [https://archive.org/details/oldcourtnovel03shee Volume 3] (London : H. Colburn, 1829)
*''[https://archive.org/details/alascoatragedyi00sheegoog Alasco: A Tragedy, in Five Acts]'' (Sherwood, Jones, and co., 1824).

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200">
File:Martin Archer Shee - John Philip Kemble - 1925.587 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg|[[John Philip Kemble]], c.1795
File:Anne Luttrell duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn.jpg|[[Anne Horton|Duchess of Cumberland]], c.1795
File:Sir Martin Archer Shee portrait Anna Margaretta Larpent in a white dress with a blue sash.jpg|[[Anna Larpent]], c.1800
File:John Henry Johnstone portrait.png|[[John Henry Johnstone]], 1803
File:Portrait of the 6th Duke of Devonshire (Archer Shee).png|[[William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire| Marquess of Hartington]], 1806
File:Sir Thomas Picton by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg|[[Thomas Picton]], 1812
File:Henry Vassall Webster.jpg|[[Henry Vassall Webster]], c.1814
File:Edward Kerrison.png|[[Sir Edward Kerrison, 1st Baronet|Edward Kerrison]], 1814
File:Martin Archer Shee - William Roscoe - Google Art Project.jpg|[[William Roscoe]], c.1815-17
File:Sharon Turner by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg|[[Sharon Turner]], 1817
File:Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Bt by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg|[[Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet|Thomas Munro]], 1819
File:Jane, Lady Munro by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg|Lady Munro, 1819
File:The Painter's Son.png|''[[The Painter's Son]]'', 1820
File:Alexander Macdonell.jpg|[[Alexander Macdonell (bishop of Kingston)|Alexander Macdonell]], 1823
File:Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg|[[Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman|Lord Denman]], 1832
File:Sir Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850) - Richard Colley Wellesley, Marquess Wellesley (1760-1842) - RCIN 404332 - Royal Collection.jpg|[[Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley|Marquess Wellesley]], 1832
File:William IV in 1833 by Shee cropped.jpg|''[[Portrait of William IV (Archer Shee)|Portrait of William IV]]'', 1833
File:Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850) - John Cust (1779–1853), 1st Earl Brownlow, GCH, FRS, MP - 436206 - National Trust.jpg|[[John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow|Lord Brownlow]], c.1835
File:Sir Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850) - Henry Paget (1768-1854), 2nd Earl of Uxbridge and 1st Marquess of Anglesey - RCIN 401453 - Royal Collection.jpg|[[Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey|Marquess of Anglesey]], 1836
File:Shee - Queen Adelaide - Royal Collection.jpg|''[[Portrait of Queen Adelaide]]'', 1836
File:Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Bt by Sir Martin Archer Shee.jpg|[[Sir Francis Burdett]], 1843
</gallery>

==Bibliography==
* Martin Archer Shee, ''The Life of Sir Martin Archer Shee'', [https://archive.org/stream/lifeofsirmartina01sheeiala#page/n7/mode/2up Volume 1], [https://archive.org/stream/lifeofsirmartina02sheeiala#page/n7/mode/2up Volume 2] (London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1860).<ref>{{cite journal|title=Review of ''The Life of Sir Martin Archer Shee, President of the Royal Academy'' by his son, Martin Archer Shee, of the Inner Temple, Esq. Barrister-at-Law, 2 vols.|journal=The Athenaeum|date=May 26, 1860|issue=1700|pages=711–713|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kbRHAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA711}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Shee, Sir Martin Archer}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Art UK bio}}
*[http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/shee_sir_martin_archer.html Sir Martin Archer Shee online] (ArtCyclopedia)
*[http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/biographies-of-irish-artists/martin-archer-shee.htm Biography of M. A. Shee] (Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art)
*[http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/european_paintings/william_archer_shee_1810_1899_the_artist_s_son_sir_martin_archer_shee/objectview.aspx?collID=11&OID=110002115 William Archer Shee, the artist's son] (Oil on canvas, Ca. 1820 – [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]])
*[http://onlinecollection.nationalgallery.ie/objects/1528/sir-martin-archer-shee-17691859-portrait-painter-and-pre?ctx=8ead7e3e-aa17-4732-aa49-aac4a9ed80fa&idx=13 Portrait by Thomas Bridgford ]
{{s-start}}
{{s-culture}}
{{s-bef |before=[[Thomas Lawrence (painter)|Sir Thomas Lawrence]]}}
{{s-ttl |title=[[List of officers of the Royal Academy of Arts#Presidents (PRA)|President of the Royal Academy]] |years=1830–1850}}
{{s-aft |after=[[Charles Lock Eastlake]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shee, Martin Archer}}
[[Category:1769 births]]
[[Category:1850 deaths]]
[[Category:Artists from County Dublin]]
[[Category:18th-century Irish painters]]
[[Category:18th-century Irish male artists]]
[[Category:19th-century Irish painters]]
[[Category:Irish male painters]]
[[Category:Irish portrait painters]]
[[Category:Royal Academicians]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Irish emigrants to Kingdom of Great Britain]]
[[Category:19th-century Irish poets]]
[[Category:19th-century Irish novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Irish male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Members and Associates of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists]]
[[Category:Irish male novelists]]
[[Category:Irish male poets]]
[[Category:19th-century Irish male artists]]
[[Category:Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge]]