Arthur Devis was a British Renaissance and Rococo painter. He was the eldest son of Anthony Devis, who was a member of Lancashire City Council. Presumably Arthur Devis was able to become a pupil of the Flemish painter Peter Tillemans through his father's connections. Devis finished his apprenticeship with Tillemans in London and then became his assistant. Under Tillemans' supervision, Devis painted mainly landscapes and cityscapes. He copied the works of Italian artists like Pannini and Marco Ricci. When Tillemans retired, Devis returned to his home town of Lancashire at the age of about 21. One of his first known commissions was also a landscape painting, which he completed at the age of 23. Devis switched from landscape paintings to portraits a few years later. The reason for this could be the financial attractiveness of this genre. Through his father's connections, Devis had good contacts with the wealthy and especially pro-Jacobite families around the Lancashire region.
At the age of 26 Devis returned to London and opened his own studio. He became famous especially for his conversation pieces. These are portraits of several people apparently talking to each other. Although his main focus was on portraits, the background still played a role. He often painted his clients in front of a landscape background, which he adopted very faithfully. For interiors, on the other hand, he almost always kept to his imagination. His style and good connections made him a sought-after artist in London and he had many commissions in the years to come. Devis reached the peak of his career at the age of 36. In the following ten years he had the most commissions. At 48 he became president of the Society of Artists of Great Britain, where he occasionally exhibited some of his work. However, Devis never tried to exhibit or become a member of the Royal Academy.
Already a few years before his election as president of the Society of Artists, Devis was hardly of importance as a portrait painter. For his style had gone out of fashion in the meantime. His fame was contested by artists like Johann Zaffony and Joshua Reynolds and their works. Due to a lack of commissions, Devis finally had to accept restoration work in order to make ends meet. However, he also earned very well from this work. For example, he received around 1000 pounds for the restoration of some works by the British painter James Thornhill. Devis finally sold all his paintings when he was 71 years old to retire. He moved to Brighton and died there four years later. Devis was married to Elizabeth Faulkner. The couple produced 22 children, but only six of them reached adulthood. Two of his sons, Thomas Anthony Devis and Arthur William Devis also became painters. His half-brother Anthony Devis was also a well-known painter.
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.jpg "Portrait of John Addison, c.1787-95 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Mr and Mrs Richard Bull and family, 1730-80 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Gentleman, Possibly William Hickey, and an Indian Servant by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Family, Traditionally Known as the Swaine Family of Fencroft, Cambridgeshire by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of Abba Thulle, King of Pelew by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Family, Traditionally Known as the Swaine Family of Fencroft, Cambridgeshire by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Children in an Interior by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Family, Traditionally Known as the Swaine Family of Fencroft, Cambridgeshire by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "John Orde, His Wife, Anne, His Eldest Son, William, and a Servant by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Hoghton Tower, 18th century by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "An Unknown Man in a Library by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Man in Brown by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Sir George Lyttelton, Bart., with Lt. Col. Richard Lyttelton, and Rachel, Duchess of Bridgewater, 1748 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Lady Chambers by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "William Farington of Shawe Hall, Lancashire by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "An Unknown Man Seated at a Table by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "A Lady in a Drawing Room by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "An Unknown Man with His Daughter by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Mr. and Mrs. Hill by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Man in Blue by Arthur Devis")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-898829).jpg "A Gentleman, possibly William Hickey, and his Indian Servant, c.1785 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Richard Moretan, Esq. of Tackley with His Nephew and Niece John and Susanna Weyland, 1757 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Mr and Mrs Atherton by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "John Ward of Squerries by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Gentleman with a Cannon by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "John Orde, with His Wife Anne, and His Eldest Son, William, of Morpeth, Northumberland, c.1754-56 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Members of the Maynard Family in the Park at Waltons, c. 1755-1762 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "A Group Portrait of Three of the Children of Peter and Mary Du Cane, All Small Full-Length, Playing with an Elaborate Dog-Cart, in the Grounds of a Country House, 1747 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Leak Okeover, Rev. John Allen and Captain Chester at Okeover Hall, Staffordshire by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Sir Robert Chambers by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Woman in Light Blue, 1785 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "A Tavern Scene by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Children in an Interior by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "An Unknown Man Seated at a Table by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Reverend Streynsham Master and His Wife, Margaret of Croston, Lancashire by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Robert Gwillym of Atherton and His Family by Arthur Devis")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1651405).jpg "Members of the Maynard Family in the Park at Waltons, c.1755-1762 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "The John Bacon Family by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "A Lady in a Drawing Room by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Mr. and Mrs. Fraser by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "The Till Family by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Robert Gwillym of Atherton and His Family by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Death of Lord Nelson by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Members of the Maynard Family in the Park at Waltons by Arthur Devis")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1104860).jpg "Portrait of Elizabeth Faulkner, the Artist")
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.jpg "The John Bacon Family by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Probably John Trevor, third Baron Trevor, of St. Anne")
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.jpg "Thomas Lister and Family at Gisburne Park by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait Of A Man In Red, 1785 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "A Lady in a Drawing Room by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Emily and George Mason by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of William Chaworth of Annesley, Nottinghamshire by Arthur Devis")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-900015).jpg "Robert Gwillym of Atherton and his Family, c.1745-7 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "The Till Family, c.1750-51 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Arthur Holdsworth Conversing with Thomas Taylor and Captain Stancombe by the River Dart by Arthur Devis")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1173075).jpg "Portrait of a Gentleman Seated by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Thomas Lister and Family at Gisburne Park by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Gentleman Netting Partridges by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "The Rookes-Leeds Family by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Unknown Image by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of William Ingle by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Lady in a Landscape by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Children in an Interior by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Robert Gwillym of Atherton and His Family by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Grenadier of a Volunteer Regiment by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "An Unknown Man in a Library by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Grinding Corn by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Sir George and Lady Strickland by Arthur Devis")
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 (see also 328882) - (MeisterDrucke-216326).jpg "One of a pair of portraits of two sisters of the Moult family of Nottinghamshire by Arthur Devis")
 (see also 328882) - (MeisterDrucke-216326).jpg)
.jpg "Nicholas Fazackerley by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Man by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "The John Bacon Family by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Sir John Shaw and His Family in the Park at Eltham Lodge, Kent by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Self Portrait, 1742 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "A Lady in a Drawing Room by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Sir John Shaw and His Family in the Park at Eltham Lodge, Kent by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of the Rev. William Farington, Vicar of Leigh in Lancashire, c.1741-42 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "John Trevor, 3rd Baron Trevor, of St. Anne")
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.jpg "Portrait Possibly of John Trevor, 3rd Baron Trevor of St. Anne")
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.jpg "John Thomlinson and His Family, 1745 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Sir John Shaw and his Family in the Park at Eltham Lodge, Kent by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Couple, possibly Daniel and Mary Swaine of Leverington Hall, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire, c.1753 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of Miss Elizabeth Hemyng by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "James Duff by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "A Family of Anglers by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Leak Okeover, Rev. John Allen and Captain Chester at Okeover Hall, Staffordshire by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of John Orlebar by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "The Staffordshire Militia on parade at Windsor Castle by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "An Unknown Man with His Daughter by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "William Farington of Shawe Hall, Lancashire by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "John Orde, His Wife Anne, and His Eldest Son William by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Arthur Holdsworth Conversing with Thomas Taylor and Captain Stancombe by River Dart by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "A Family Group on a Terrace in a Garden, 1749 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Man by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait Of A Woman In Dark Blue, 1785 by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "An Unknown Man in a Library by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "An Unknown Man with His Daughter by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Robert Gwillym of Atherton and William Farington of Werden by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "Portrait of a Gentleman Netting Partridges by Arthur Devis")
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.jpg "John Thomlinson and His Family by Arthur Devis")
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