William Sadler, Historical and Portrait Painter
(fl. 1768-1788)
Historical and Portrait Painter
From A Dictionary of Irish Artists 1913
Was born in England, the son of a musician. As a boy he came to Dublin with his father, and was placed in the Dublin Society's Drawing School in 1765 where he was awarded a premium of five pounds in 1768. Commencing practice as a portrait painter both in oil and miniature, he had the good fortune to obtain the patronage of the La Touche family. In 1777 he was living in South Great George's Street, and sent to the exhibition of the Society of Artists portraits in crayon and dead game. In 1780, when at 13 Great Ship Street, he contributed two portraits in oil and four in crayons. In 1784 he was living at 4 East Park Street. Besides portraits and historical pictures he did works in chiaro-oscuro, presumably for wall decorations, for Samuel Sproule the architect.
He also scraped the following mezzotints:
Portrait of John Kemble in "The Count of Narbonne," published by William Allen, Dame Street. The original chalk drawing for this print is in the National Gallery of Ireland.
Portrait of George Earl Temple, Lord Lieutenant, in his robes as Grand Master of the Order of St. Patrick; after the picture by Robert Hunter (q.v.), now in the Deanery House, St. Patrick's.
Portrait of James, 1st Duke of Leinster. An impression of this print, which was unknown to Chaloner Smith, is in the Joly collection in the National Library.
In "Exshaw's Magazine," 1777, is a portrait of Moss, the actor, W. H. Sadler, sculpt.
Sadler died about 1788. "His end," says Pasquin, "was as melancholy as his powers were admirable."