William Armfield Hobday: A Portraitist Caught Between Glamour and Ruin William Armfield Hobday (1771 – 17 February 1831) stands as a fascinating figure in the annals of British art history—a painter who achieved considerable renown during his time, yet whose legacy is shadowed by financial instability and ultimately, premature demise. Born into a prosperous Birmingham spoon manufacturing family, Hobday possessed an innate talent for drawing from a young age, propelling him towards London where he pursued formal artistic training at the Royal Academy schools alongside William Reynolds—a conne…