Thornhill, Sir James (1675-1734), was an outstanding English mural painter. Thornhill was the only English painter of his time to understand and execute the continental European formulas for ceiling and wallpaintings. His best-known works are eight paintings (1716-1719) on the life of Saint Paul in the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and the Painted Hall (1708-1727) at Greenwich Hospital. Thornhill also executed paintings in several English mansions.
Thornhill was born in Melcombe Regis, in Dorset, England. King George I knighted him in 1720, the first English artist to receive that honor. Thornhill served as a member of Parliament from 1722 to 1734. He was appointed history painter to King George in 1728. His son-in-law was the famous English painter William Hogarth, who had been a pupil at a drawing school Thornhill founded. Thornhill died on May 13, 1734.
