George Romney

George Romney was a portrait painter from Dalton-in-Furness who worked first in Kendal and moved to London in 1762, leaving his wife behind. After two years in Italy he became one of the most fashionable portraitists in London, rivalling Reynolds and Gainsborough, though he never joined the Royal Academy. He is best known for his many paintings of Emma Hart, later Lady Hamilton, whom he painted in dozens of roles. He returned to his wife in Kendal at the end of his life. Kenwood House, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain and Abbot Hall in Kendal hold his work.