(1774 - 1837)
Landscape and animal painter Charles Henry Schwanfelder was born in Leeds; the son of John James Schwanfelder, an artist and painter of clock dials, trays, etc. He studied under his father, before launching himself as a portraitist in Leeds. He exhibited at the Northern Society for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Leeds, and the Royal Academy and British Institution in London. In 1815 he was appointed animal painter to the Prince Regent, who reappointed him after becoming George IV. Schwanfelder’s landscapes, sketched during painting tours, often formed the backgrounds of his animal portraits. By 1835 he was dividing his time between painting and teaching. He developed a disease of the windpipe and died following an operation, aged 63.
