Morland, George

Morland, George, 1763–1804, English genre, animal, and landscape painter. A pupil of his father, Henry Morland (1716–97), a London portrait painter, he left his father's studio when he was 21 and began a lifelong career of dissipation. He painted prolifically, producing more than 4,000 pictures in his short life, and although his work was popular and made him a fortune, he squandered his money and was often imprisoned for debt. In 1791 he painted his masterpiece, Interior of a Stable (National Gall., London). He painted genre scenes and the English countryside, rendering them in rich colors and with a gusto that modifies their sentimentality. Dogs Fighting and Old English Sportsman (N.Y. Historical Society) and Pigs in a Fodder Yard (N.Y. Public Lib.) are representative. Despite his earlier fame, Morland died in a detention house for debtors.

Bibliography

See catalog by L. L. Gall. (1966); study by W. Gilbey and E. D. Cuming (1907).