John Jackson, William Seguier

William Seguier was a picture dealer and picture cleaner. He was Superintendent of the British Institution from its foundation in 1805, Surveyor, Cleaner and Repairer of the King’s Pictures from 1820 and Keeper of the National Gallery from its foundation in 1824. He continued in all three positions until his death in 1843. While each of the posts Seguier held involved considerable executive responsibility and much hard work, none of them was intended to be a full-time job.

Seguier was born on 9 November 1772, one of the nine children of David Seguier, a dealer in prints and pictures, and his wife Elizabeth Thwaites. William Seguier’s training in the trade and the fact that he had never been to Italy and had a Cockney accent were to prompt continual jibes, but it was conceded that although he lacked airs and graces he was an excellent judge of pictures. By about 1800 he had established his own picture dealing and picture cleaning business. He advised many private collectors on purchasing, hanging and cleaning the pictures in their collections and acted as an agent in the saleroom. George Watson Taylor MP, who commissioned this portrait of Seguier, was one of his most wealthy clients.

Sir George Beaumont and Lord Farnborough, both of whom had employed Seguier in the care of their collections, steered him into official roles. Both were founding governors of the British Institution, established in 1805 to encourage ‘rising British artists’ through the display and sale of their work. They were largely responsible for appointing Seguier as its Superintendent.

Lord Farnborough, a close friend of King George IV, encouraged the appointment of Seguier as Surveyor, Cleaner and Repairer of the King’s Pictures in 1820. When he began, the number of pictures in the Royal Collection was unknown – Seguier set about creating an inventory. As a cleaner and restorer, Seguier believed that pictures in reasonably good condition should be left alone. He occasionally acted for the King at picture sales and it was said that the ‘King does nothing without Mr. Seguier’s advice’.

When the National Gallery was established in 1824, William Seguier was appointed as its first Keeper. He was responsible for the preservation of the pictures, superintending the arrangements for admission, and valuing and negotiating the purchase of pictures. It opened with 38 paintings bought from Sir John Julius Angerstein’s collection (which Seguier had valued). Sir George Beaumont’s offer to give his own collection to the Gallery may have been influenced by the knowledge that Seguier would be their Keeper.

Jackson’s portrait shows Seguier at the age of 58. The artist, an old friend of the sitter, died before finishing the portrait. The hands are missing and it is not clear whether Seguier is holding official papers or a sheaf of prints.