# Henry William Pickersgill artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/henry-william-pickersgill/
Profile generated: 2026-05-23T14:09:25.981Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1782-12-03
- Death date: 1875-04-21
- Nationality: British, English
- Movements: British portraiture, early 19th century
- Common media: oil on canvas, prints

## About Henry William Pickersgill

Henry William Pickersgill RA (1782–1875) was a leading English portrait painter whose career spanned nearly the entire first three quarters of the nineteenth century. Born and based in London, he was elected a Royal Academician and remained one for close to fifty years, during which he painted many of the most prominent figures of Georgian and Victorian Britain. His sitters ranged from scientists and surgeons to politicians, military officers, and church leaders, reflecting the breadth of his professional reputation. Pickersgill's portraits are held by major British institutions including Tate, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Royal Academy, underscoring his significance within the British portrait tradition.

## Common works and media

Oil portraits on canvas are the most frequently encountered works, ranging from full-length and three-quarter-length sitters to bust-format compositions. Pickersgill also produced portrait drawings, and reproductive engravings after his paintings were widely circulated in nineteenth-century print publications. These prints appear at auction as separate lots and represent a distinct collecting category from the original paintings.

## Market and appraisal context

Pickersgill's works appear on the market as oil portraits of varying sizes, from full-length compositions to smaller cabinet portraits. Value depends heavily on the identity and historical importance of the sitter, the painting's provenance, condition, and whether it retains its original frame. Works with documented exhibition history at the Royal Academy or belonging to a named collection tend to attract stronger interest. Reproductive prints after his portraits also surface at auction and carry separate, generally lower, valuations. Attribution should be verified through provenance records or specialist review.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Henry William Pickersgill, identity data is grounded in Getty ULAN, RKD, Tate, and Wikidata authority files, with biographical context drawn from museum and encyclopedia sources.

## Sources

- RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/63325
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/henry-william-pickersgill-425
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_William_Pickersgill
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3133160
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500006697
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/24873518/
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr2002014792