Sir William Beechey RA (1753 – 1839) was a main English portraitist during the golden age of British painting. Beechey was born at Burford, Oxfordshire, on 12 December 1753, the son of William Beechey, a solicitor, and his wife Hannah Read.

Beechey was joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1772, where he believe to have studied under Johan Zoffany. He first exhibition was at the Academy in 1776. His earliest surviving portraits are small-scale full-length and conversation pieces that are reminiscent of Zoffany. In 1782, he moved to Norwich, where he gained several commissions, including a portrait of Sir John Wodehouse and a series of civic portraits for St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich. By 1787, he had returned to London, and in 1789, he exhibited a celebrated portrait of John Douglas, Bishop of Carlisle (now in Lambeth Palace). Beechey's career during this period is marked by a succession of adept and restrained portraits in the tradition of Sir Joshua Reynolds.

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