Abraham Pether
Encyclopedia
Abraham Pether was an English landscape painter, recognised for his skill in depicting moonlit scenes. He was also a talented musician, inventor, mathematician and philosopher.

Life and work

Abraham was born in Chichester
Chichester
Chichester is a cathedral city in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, South-East England. It has a long history as a settlement; its Roman past and its subsequent importance in Anglo-Saxon times are only its beginnings...

 in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

, and was a cousin of notable engraver William Pether. In childhood he showed a great talent for music, and at the age of nine played the organ in one of the Chichester churches. Adopting art as his profession, he became a pupil of George Smith
George Smith (artist)
George Smith was an English landscape painter and poet, known as "George Smith of Chichester". He and his two brothers, all artists, are known as the "Smiths of Chichester".-Life and work:...

, whom he greatly surpassed.

He painted river and mountain scenery, with classical buildings, in a pleasing though artificial style, somewhat resembling that of Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson (painter)
Richard Wilson was a Welsh landscape painter, and one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Wilson has been described as '...the most distinguished painter Wales has ever produced and the first to appreciate the aesthetic possibilities of his country.' He is considered to be the...

; but his reputation rests on his moonlight subjects, which attracted much admiration, and earned for
him the sobriquet of "Moonlight" Pether. He was partial to the combination of moonlight and firelight, as in such subjects as "Eruption of Vesuvius", "Ship on Fire in a Gale at Night", "An Iron foundry by Moonlight" etc., which he painted with fine feeling and harmony of colour.

Pether was a major exhibitor with both the Free Society of Artists
Society of Artists
The Society of Artists of Great Britain was founded in London in May 1761 by an association of artists in order to provide a venue for the public exhibition of recent work by living artists, such as was having success in the long-established Paris salons....

 and the Incorporated Society of Artists from 1773 to 1791, and at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...

 from 1784 to 1811. His "Harvest Moon", which was at the Academy in 1795, was highly praised at the time. He had an extensive knowledge of scientific subjects, and in his moonlight pictures the astronomical conditions are always correctly observed.

Pether was also a clever inventor, constructing telescopes and microscopes for his own use, and lectured on electricity using instruments of his own making.

Although his art was popular, Pether was never able to do more than supply the daily wants of his large family, and when attacked by a lingering disease, which incapacitated him for work and eventually caused his death, he was reduced to great poverty. He died at Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

 on 3 April 1812, leaving a widow, Elizabeth, and nine children quite destitute; and the fact that they were unable to obtain any assistance from the Artists' Benevolent Fund was made the occasion of a fierce attack upon the management of that society. Elizabeth Pether later went into business with a partner as "Pether & Co.", selling black lead
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...

 and chalk pencils.

Abraham Pether is known in the art world as "Old" Pether, to distinguish him from his sons Sebastian Pether (1790-1844) and Henry Pether (fl. 1828-1865), also landscape artists who became known for their moonlit scenes. It is thought that Abraham had a brother called Thomas Pether (they are recorded as sharing a residence); the latter was a wax modeller who exhibited portraits in wax with the Free Society of Artists from 1772-81.

External links

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