Benjamin Wilson (painter)
Benjamin Wilson | |
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Born | June 21, 1721 York, England |
Died | June 6, 1788 |
Nationality | British |
Occupation(s) | Painter, printmaker, scientist (natural philosopher) |
Notable work | Self-portrait, c. 1752 |
Benjamin Wilson (June 21, 1721 – June 6, 1788) was a British painter, printmaker and scientist (natural philosopher).[1]
Life
He was the 14th child of Major Wilson, a wealthy
As a scientist he opposed Benjamin Franklin's theory of positive and negative electricity. Instead, Wilson supported Isaac Newton's gravitational-optical ether, which he supposed to differ in density around bodies in accordance with their degrees of electrification. Wilson also opposed Franklin's theory of pointed lightning rods, holding that blunt conductors performed better than pointed ones.
Wilson also tried to increase the light intensity and duration of solid state
His best experimental work was on the electrical properties of tourmaline, which gained Wilson international recognition, including election to several European academies of science. He had already been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1751 and received its gold Copley medal in 1760 for his tourmaline experiments.[3] Amongst Wilson's art pupils were portrait painter
Selected gallery
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Dr Richard Russell, FRS (1755),Brighton and Hove Museums and Art Galleries
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Portrait of Deborah Read Franklin (1758-59), American Philosophical Society Library & Museum
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Portrait of Benjamin Franklin (1759), White House
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The Blandy Family (1784), Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
References
- OCLC 801575574.
- ^ Newton, Harvey E. (1957). A History of Luminescence, From the Earliest Times Until 1900. Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society. Vol. 44. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1900). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 62. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 82–84.
External links
- Benjamin Wilson online (ArtCyclopedia)
- Portrait of Arthur Macro (The Art Fund)