(1777 - 1842)
Robert Ker Porter was born in Durham. He entered the Royal Academy Schools at 13. In 1793 he was commissioned to paint an altarpiece for Shoreditch church, followed by further biblical works. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1792 to 1805 and produced enormous battle panorama, including the 120 foot long ‘Storming of Seringapatam’ (1800). In 1805 he travelled to Russia to paint historical murals for the Admiralty in St. Petersburg. After leaving Russia in 1813, he was knighted by the Prince Regent. He began a period of travel in 1817, which led to the publication ‘Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, Ancient Babylonia’ (1821). In 1825, he was appointed British Consul in Venezuela. He returned to England in 1841, where he died aged 65.
