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Born in London in 1774, Chinnery first exhibited
at the Royal Academy in 1791 when he was only 17.
He moved to Dublin in 1795 where he got married in
1799. The marriage was not successful. He abandoned
his wife in 1802; returned to London and sailed for
India where he stayed and painted until 1825. The
"Indian Village Scene" and the "Watch
Tower" drawings are from this period.
Heavily indebted, he fled to Macao in 1825 where
he remained until his death in 1852. He continued
to exhibit at the Royal Acadamy between 1830 and 1846
sending his paintings from Canton. During this time
in Macao, Chinnery painted many leading European and
Chinese merchants including Russell Sturgis and his
children "Lucy and John" as well as the
wondeful portrait of "The Lady Holding a fan".
Although he made his money from painting portraits,
Chinnery was fascinated by the everyday scenes of
life all around him. His sketches of everything from
boats to pigs could not have been commercially very
successful for him but , today, they provide us with
a vignette of life on the China Coast before the camera
was in general use . Our portrait of the Blacksmith
at work is a typical example of such work
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