Kneller, Godfrey (1646–1723)

German-born portrait painter who lived in England from 1674. A successful and prolific painter of nearly 6,000 portraits, he dominated English portraiture of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was court painter to Charles II, James II, William III, and George I. Kneller was knighted in 1692 and made a baronet in 1715.

Among his paintings are the series Hampton Court Beauties (Hampton Court, Surrey), a sequel to Peter Lely's Windsor Beauties; and 48 portraits of the members of the Whig Kit Cat Club (1702–17; National Portrait Gallery, London). His studio, which was attended by most of the outstanding English artists of the 18th century, was the immediate forerunner of the first real drawing school in London.