LAPORTE, George Henry

German painter, active in England. He was a sporting painter whose work includes depictions of all aspects of country life: hunting, racing, shooting and animal still-lives. He was the son and pupil of the distinguished watercolourist John Laporte (1761-1839). He was a founder member of the Royal Society of British Artists, where he exhibited regularly. Many of his paintings were engraved for The Sporting Magazine and other journals. Laporte enjoyed a wide and prosperous patronage, and was appointed Animal Painter to the Duke of Cumberland and the King of Hanover.

His painting technique is idiosyncratic and easily recognised: it is highly toned and colourful, with the paint applied in thin translucent washes - presumably reflecting the water-colourist’s technique which he derived from his father.