Robert Carver was a Dublin born Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

, who worked as a painter of theatre scenery as well as painting framed works.

Career

Robert Carver was one of the leading landscape painters in the second half of eighteenth century Ireland. Like his contemporary Thomas Roberts

Thomas Roberts (painter)

Thomas Roberts was an Irish landscape painter.Born into a family of artists in County Waterford, he was the eldest son of architect John Roberts. Roberts, the son, would become a student of the Cork painter John Butts and landscape painter George Mullins...

, Carver was born into a Waterford

Waterford

Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...

 family. His first lessons were provided by his father Richard, also a landscape painter. Later he would train under Robert West

Robert West (painter)

Robert West was an Irish artist, draughtsman and teacher. He was born in Waterford, where his father was an alderman. He studied drawing and painting at the French Academy under François Boucher and Jean-Baptiste van Loo....

 at the Dublin Society Schools and would establish himself as an esteemed Dublin scenery painter. In 1754, Carver succeeded John Lewis as scenery painter at Smock Alley Theatre

Theatre Royal, Dublin

At one stage in the history of the theatre in Britain and Ireland, the designation Theatre Royal or Royal Theatre was an indication that the theatre was granted a Royal Patent without which theatrical performances were illegal...

, where he painted a wide array of scenery. He would later be employed by the revived rival theatre in Crow Street where he painted for Spranger Barry

Spranger Barry

Spranger Barry was an Irish actor.-Life:He was born in Skinner's Row, Dublin, the son of a silversmith, to whose business he was brought up...

 among others. Carver moved to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 around 1769 and was hired by Garrick as the head scene painter at Drury Lane

Drury Lane

Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....

. Here his work was highly regarded and received much praise.

Between 1765 and 1768 Carver sent twenty paintings to the Free Society's exhibitions in London. He became a member there in 1773 and President of the society in 1777. Carver died of pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

 in 1791, while completing a series of paintings for his patron Lord Altamont

Marquess of Sligo

Marquess of Sligo is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for John Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont. The Marquess holds the subsidiary titles of Baron Mount Eagle, of Westport in the County of Mayo , Viscount Westport, of Westport in the County of Mayo , Earl of Altamont, in the...

in Westport, County Mayo.