Life

Born in the parish of St Leonard's, Shoreditch

St Leonard's, Shoreditch

St Leonard's, Shoreditch is the ancient parish church of Shoreditch, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road, within the London Borough of Hackney. The current building dates from about 1740...

, on 26 August 1751, he was son of Alexander Grimaldi and Esther Barton his wife, and great-grandson of Alessandro Maria Grimaldi, the heir and representative of the Genoese family of Grimaldi, who had settled in England after the bombardment of Genoa in 1684. Grimaldi was nephew of Thomas Worlidge

Thomas Worlidge

-Life:He was born in Peterborough of Roman Catholic parents, and studied art in London as a pupil of the Genoese refugee Alessandro Maria Grimaldi . He painted portraits of his master Grimaldi and his master's wife about 1720. He married Grimaldi's daughter, and remained on close terms with...

, to whom in 1764 he was bound apprentice for seven years. He remained with Mrs. Worlidge after his uncle's death, and assisted in the publication in 1768 of Worlidge's Antique Gems.

On completing his apprenticeship Grimaldi started life as a miniature-painter, working only in water-colours up to 1785, when he made some essays in enamel painting. From 1777 to 1783 he was in Paris.

He attracted the notice of Sir Joshua Reynolds, many of whose works, notably his Master Bunbury, Grimaldi copied in miniature; Reynolds recommended him to many persons of distinction, including the Prince of Wales and Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany

Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany

The Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany was a member of the Hanoverian and British Royal Family, the second eldest child, and second son, of King George III...

. For the former he painted a miniature of Maria Fitzherbert, and for the latter a miniature of the duke, which was presented to the duchess Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia on their marriage. In 1790 he was appointed enamel painter to the Duke of York, in 1791 to the Duchess of York, and in 1804 to the Prince of Wales.

Grimaldi was a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy

Royal Academy

The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...

 from 1786 to 1824. He practised in the country as well as in London, but in 1825 settled at 16 Upper Ebury Street, Chelsea, where he died 27 May 1830, and was buried in Bunhill Fields

Bunhill Fields

Bunhill Fields is a cemetery in the London Borough of Islington, north of the City of London, and managed by the City of London Corporation. It is about 4 hectares in extent, although historically was much larger....

 cemetery. In 1873 the Rev. A. B. Grimaldi published A Catalogue, Chronological and Descriptive, of the Paintings, Drawings, and Engravings by and after William Grimaldi, R.A., Paris, Enamel-Painter Extraordinary to George IV.

Family

He married, 13 November 1783, Frances, daughter of Louis Barker of Rochester, by whom he was father of Stacey Grimaldi

Stacey Grimaldi

Stacey Grimaldi , was an English lawyer and antiquary.-Life:Stacey Grimaldi was descended from the house of Grimaldi: he was the great-grandson of Alexander Grimaldi of Genoa, who quitted that city after its bombardment by Louis XIV in 1684, and whose father of the same name had been doge of Genoa...

. William and Stacey were pioneers of the interactive book, with William designing a "lift-the-flap" book in the 1820s.