Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Carver, Robert
CARVER, ROBERT (d. 1791), landscape and scene painter, was a native of Ireland and the son of Richard Carver, an historical and landscape painter of some merit, who painted an altar-piece at Waterford. Robert Carver received instruction from his father, and exhibited several small pictures in water-colours in Dublin with some success. He also painted scenes for the Dublin Theatre, which attracted so much attention that Garrick commissioned him to paint one for Drury Lane Theatre, and eventually invited him to take up his residence in London as scene-painter to that theatre. Carver was a friend of his compatriot, Spranger Barry, and when that actor quarrelled with Garrick, and transferred himself with a rival company to Covent Garden Theatre, Carver followed in his train, and continued to paint scenes for that theatre in conjunction with John Inigo Richards, R.A., and other artists. One of his scenes was known as the ‘Dublin Drop,’ and is described as follows by the painter Edward Dayes: ‘The scene was a representation of a storm on a coast, with a fine piece of water dashing against some rocks, and forming a sheet of foam truly terrific; this, with the barren appearance of the surrounding country, and an old leafless tree or two, were the materials that composed a picture which would have done honour to the first artist, and will be remembered as the finest painting that ever decorated a theatre.’ Besides scene-painting, Carver obtained great success as a landscape-painter, and from 1765 to 1790 exhibited numerous landscapes in oil and water-colours at the exhibitions of the Incorporated Society of Artists. He was a fellow of this society, and in 1772 was appointed director. He also exhibited at the Free Society of Artists, and later on at the Royal Academy. His pictures always excited attention and favourable criticism, and in the newspapers of the time he is spoken of as the ‘ingenious and celebrated Mr. Carver.’ He particularly excelled in atmospheric effects, such as those of the early dawn. Generally the same qualities which brought him so much success in scene-painting were apparent in his smaller pictures. Carver was of a generous and convivial temperament, a free liver, and fond of society. For many years he was a martyr to the gout, and died in Bow Street, Covent Garden, at the end of November 1791.
[Redgrave's Dict. of English Artists; Pasquin's History of Painting in Ireland; Dayes's Professional Sketches of Modern Artists; Sarsfield Taylor's Origin, Progress, &c., of the Fine Arts in Great Britain and Ireland; Somerset House Gazette; Graves's Dict. of Artists, 1760–1880; Edwards's Anecdotes of Painters; Catalogues of the Society of Artists, Royal Academy, &c.; manuscript information in the Print Room, British Museum.]
Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p.57
N.B.— f.e. stands for from end and l.l. for last line
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| 238 | ii | 11 f.e. | Carver, Robert: after director insert He was president of the Society of Artists in 1777 |