Early Life and Artistic Foundations Sir Peter Francis Bourgeois, a name perhaps less immediately recognizable than some of his contemporaries, occupies a fascinating niche in the annals of British art history. Born in London in November 1753 – though Royal Academy records suggest 1756 – his early life was marked by a degree of instability. The son of Isaac Emanuel Bourgeois, a Swiss watchmaker who had emigrated to England, and Elizabeth Gordon, young Peter experienced the abrupt abandonment of his father following his mother’s death in 1768. This formative loss propelled him into the care of…