George Cumberland (1754-1848) George Cumberland had lived in Italy and written extensively on Renaissance art, including Raphael. In London, he was both a friend and patron of William Blake and friends with John Linnell, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Thomas Stothard and Sir Charles Long (later Lord Farnborough, who established the British Institution in London, which rivalled the Royal Academy). Cumberland had retired to Bristol by 1808, when he was in his mid-50s, and met and sketched with Bird, Rippingille and their circle. He was a talented amateur artist and his work included local landscapes, portraits, interiors and natural history subjects. He offered the Bristol artists the opportunity to sketch from prints in his own collection and used his influence among his London friends to champion their work, although he could not afford to buy their paintings himself. His surviving letters are a rich source of information about the Bristol School.