Sebastian Pether

Silhouette of a windmill
Landscape by Moonlight, c. 1825–1840
Art UK

Sebastian William Thomas Pether (1790–1844)[a]Pether was baptised on 31 August 1794 at St Luke’s, Chelsea,[1] which has led some sources to believe that he was born in 1793. was an English landscape painter, the eldest son of Abraham Pether (1756–1812), also a landscape painter, and his wife Elizabeth. He was taught by his father, and like him specialised in moonlight views, nocturnal conflagrations and other landscapes in which light effects were important.[1][2]

Pether exhibited at the Royal Academy and Suffolk Street in London from 1812 to 1832.[2] But he married young and had a large family to support, forcing him to sell to dealers who bought his pictures cheaply to be copied, and so his work was rarely seen at exhibitions.[1] It was also frequently copied, and thus many works are incorrectly attributed to him.[2] The landscape painter Henry Pether (1828–1865), whose works are frequently confused with those of Sebastian, is thought to be his son.[1][3]

Pether died of tuberculosis in Battersea on 14 March 1844, and a subscription was raised to support his family.[1][3] In a November 1876 issue of The Times newspaper, charitable donations were solicited for Pether’s surviving daughter, who was said to be destitute after ruining her eyesight working as a needlewoman.[4]

Gallery

Notes

Notes
a Pether was baptised on 31 August 1794 at St Luke’s, Chelsea,[1] which has led some sources to believe that he was born in 1793.

References


Works cited

{4928910:GC7JCEQZ};{4928910:JBW4W7YT};{4928910:ZXNUKP3D};{4928910:RKILD84I} modern-language-association creator asc 1 0 30167
Scroll to Top