(1689 - 1760)
Philippe Mercier was born in Berlin to French Huguenot parents and studied at the Berlin Akademie. After travelling in Italy and France, he finally arrived in London around 1716. He was made Principal Painter to Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1729 and Keeper of his library the following year, but was succeeded in both these posts in the later 1730s. Mercier moved to York in 1739. It was during his time in York that he fully developed his fancy pictures, many of which were also engraved and sold as prints. His reputation lies in his introduction of French taste into 18th-century British art and his development of the ‘conversation piece’, as well as the fancy picture.
