(1669 - 1747)
Matthias Read was born in Clerkenwell, London. In 1690 he assisted Jan Wyck in painting scenes of the Battle of Boyne, Ireland. He left Ireland soon afterwards and moved to Whitehaven, where he met William Gilpin, Recorder of Carlisle. Gilpin probably introduced him to John Lowther, First Viscount Lonsdale. Read’s career in Whitehaven began modestly but he soon became a successful painter and never left the town. Lowther was an important patron and commissioned copies of works in his own collection, a view of his property, frescos and a ‘Birds-Eye-View of Whitehaven’. Read also painted ornament and devotional works for local churches. Many of his works, painted on panels within private houses, are now lost. He died in Whitehaven aged 78.
