Romney, George (rŏm`nē), 1734–1802, English portrait painter, b. Lancashire. Having had little early training, Romney went to London in 1762, where he rapidly became a popular and fashionable portrait painter. He studied in Italy (1773–75), and returned to England to rival Reynolds in popularity. In 1783, Romney met Emma Hart, the future Lady Hamilton, whom he painted many times as various historical figures. During his last years he gave up much of his portrait painting for literary subjects, such as Milton and His Daughters and Scene from "The Tempest" (for Boydell's Shakespeare Gall.). Romney's best portraits are ranked among the finest of the English school. His portraits of women are facile and charming, those of men more studied and impressive (e.g., Self-portrait, 1782; National Portrait Gall., London). He is well represented in the Frick Collection and the Metropolitan Museum, New York City, and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Bibliography

See biography by his son J. Romney (1830); catalogue raisonné by T. H. Ward and W. Roberts (2 vol., 1904).

Romney, George

George Romney, “Self Portrait,” oil painting, 1782; in the National Portrait Gallery, …

(credit: Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London)

(born Dec. 15, 1734, Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire, Eng.—died Nov. 15, 1802, Kendal, Westmorland) British portrait painter. Son of a Lancashire cabinetmaker, he began his career by touring the northern counties, painting portraits for a few guineas each. In 1762 he established himself as a portraitist in London and quickly won favour among society patrons. His success depended on the flattery of his likenesses; he avoided any suggestion of the sitter's character or sensibilities. Infatuated with Emma Hart (later Lady Hamilton) c. 1781–82, he went on to paint more than 50 images of her. Line, rather than colour, dominates his work, and the flowing rhythms and easy poses of Roman Classical sculpture underlie the smooth patterns of his compositions.

Romney, George (Wilcken) (1907– ) businessman, governor, cabinet officer; born in Chihuahua, Mexico. Son of American Mormon missionaries, he came to the U.S.A. at age 5 and attended the University of Utah and George Washington University. He started as a salesman with the Aluminum Company in 1930, working his way over and up in the automobile industry, eventually becoming president and chairman of American Motors Corporation (1954–62). Chairman of Citizens for Michigan (1959–62), he organized a constitutional convention. As a moderate Republican governor of Michigan (1963–69) he supported civil rights legislation while putting the state on a sound financial basis. In 1964 he had refused to support the conservative Republican candidate, Barry Goldwater, and was regarded as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 1968 until he committed a gaffe by stating that the U.S. leaders in Vietnam tried to "brainwash" him. President Nixon nevertheless appointed him secretary of Housing and Urban Development (1969–73). He later headed the National Center for Voluntary Action and held high positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.