A striking historical painting of cavalry soldiers riding across a coastal landscape. The soldiers, who wear distinctive black plumes over gold helmets, are that of the Royal Dragoon Guards, possibly the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queens Bays). The regiment formed part of the army of occupation of France after the battle of Waterloo in 1815 and were quartered at St Omer’s, a short distance from the French coast.

Richard Beavis was a painter of military, oriental and genre scenes who was born in Exmouth, Devon in 1824. He was the son of William Beavis, a shoe maker and his wife Sarah (née Barnard). The family lived at Sidmouth High Street, where his father ran his business. Despite his father wanting him to follow in his trade, Beavis decided to pursue a career in the arts and in 1846 left Devon for London where he enrolled at the Government School of Design at Somerset House, known as the Royal Academy Schools.

In 1847 he married Caroline Collins and the couple lived at 9 Pickering Terrace, Paddington with their two children. After graduating, in 1850 he gained employment as a designer for George Trollope& Sons, a firm of cabinet makers, upholsterers and decorators, where he worked until 1863. In 1851, he began exhibiting at the British Institution. A year later in 1852, he made his debut at the Royal Academy, also later exhibiting a number of his designs on behalf of Trollope & Sons. He continued to exhibit regularly with his own work at the RA right up until the year of his death. He also began exhibiting at the Society of British Artists, the British Institution, the New Watercolour Society, the Grosvenor Gallery and elsewhere. He was elected associate of the British Institution in 1867 and a member in 1871.

After the death of his first wife, he married Laura Lucy Rafarel at Barnstaple, Devon in 1859. They went on to have 8 children together. During the mid to late 1860’s he developed an interest in painting military scenes from historical events including the English Civil War and the Battle of Waterloo and other British military campaigns, which continued throughout his life. Beavis travelled to Northern France around 1867 where he lived in Boulogne for a time before visiting Holland. Upon his return to England, he lived with his family at Belsize Park until 1874 when he moved to 38 Fitzroy Square where he kept a studio. In 1875, he travelled to Italy visiting Brindisi and later Venice. He then went to Egypt where he spent time in Alexandria, Cairo before going to Jaffa and Jerusalem. From this trip Beavis produced a series of landscapes and orientalist paintings. In 1882, he was elected associate of the Royal Watercolour Society and in 1892 became a member. In 1893, one of his works ‘A Stampede in the Highlands’ was exhibited at the Worlds Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He was also commissioned to paint the ceiling of St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, London.

Around 1890, Beavis moved to 16 Notting Hill Square which was renamed Campden Hill Square in 1893. He died at his home in Campden Hill Square on 13 November, 1896. A photograph of him taken in the 1870’s is held by the National Portrait Gallery. Examples of his work are held by a number of public collections including the Canterbury Museum, Glasgow Museum, Guildhall Art Gallery, Laing Art Gallery, Portsmouth Museum, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery, Sheffield Museum, Sunderland Museum, Walker Art Gallery and York Art Gallery.

© Benton Fine Art