George Dawe

George Dawe
George Dawe, by Carl Christian Vogel von Vogelstein (1828)
Born	6 February 1781 St James's, Westminster
Died	15 October 1829 (aged 48) Kentish Town
Known for	Painting

George Dawe RA (6 February 1781 in St James's, Westminster – 15 October 1829 in Kentish Town) was an English portraitist who painted 329 portraits of Russian generals active during Napoleon's invasion of Russia for the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace. He relocated to Saint Petersburg in 1819, where he won acclaim for his work from the artistic establishment and complimentary verses by Pushkin.

He was the son of Philip Dawe, a successful mezzotint engraver who also produced political cartoons relating to the events of the Boston Tea Party.

One of his brothers was Henry Edward Dawe, also a portraitist.

George Dawe was born on 6 February 1781 to Philip Dawe and Jane in Brewer Street, in the parish of St James's. Philip was an artist and engraver in mezzotint who had worked with Hogarth and who also produced satirical political cartoons about life in America which are still highly regarded today. George was the first child born to the couple and there would be other successful artists in the family.

Dawe was baptised on 25 February 1781 at St James' Church in Piccadilly. He originally trained with his father as an engraver and became very accomplished from an early age. He later became mainly interested in painting and went on to study at the Royal Academy of Arts. He was elected an associate member of the Royal Academy in 1809 and became an Academician in 1814.

He collected old masters and studied modern and classical languages, philosophy and literature. He also studied anatomy as part of his pursuit of a better understanding of the human form and undertook human dissections in his own home as well as attending operations to improve his knowledge of the human body.