Francis Hayman; Grosvenor Bedford
- Artist: Francis Hayman
- Date: circa 1748-1750
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 28 1/4 in. x 36 in. (718 mm x 914 mm)
- Portrays: Grosvenor Bedford, Francis Hayman
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
Oil on canvas, this scene shows a neat studio where two men sit side by side. The smartly dressed artist, Francis Hayman, leans against a familiar chair while he watches his patron, Grosvenor Bedford, in the foreground. A palette rests beside him and a work on an easel reveals a portrait of Bedford himself—Hayman's careful dabs captured in real time.
The chair that supports Hayman's arm appears again in other conversation scenes; it is thought to be one of his own pieces. Hayman was a portraitist, history painter and designer for Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, and he helped train early British artists.
See it in person
Francis Hayman; Grosvenor Bedford is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
