Date of Birth: 1684-85
Date of Death: 1748
Nationality: English
Notes: Born as William Cant in Bridlington, Yorkshire, in the late 17th century, the future William Kent, who would be known in later life as "Il Signore," began as an apprentice coach painter in Hull, where his talent was soon noticed by a local squire, who, together with a number of the local Yorkshire gentry, raised the money to send Kent to Italy to study painting and architecture (he accompanied the collector John Tellman). Kent was "discovered" in Italy by Lord Burlington and became his protégé as an apostle of Palladian design. Burlington had big plans for Kent: he wanted to make him England's greatest history painter. Though this did not come to pass (his painting today is considered mediocre), Kent did become a very successful arbiter of taste. He was an architect and furniture designer, a painter, and an incredibly important landscape architect (he was one of the originators of natural landscape design and is considered by many historians to be the father of modern garden design). He was ahead of Capability Brown, Robert Adam, and Horace Walpole in setting new styles and began the trend toward controlling every aspect of architectural design. Among his followers were Matthew Brettingham the Elder, Henry Flitcroft, Isaac Ware, Stephen Wright, John Vardy, and Thomas Ripley. Though famous as an evangelist of Palladian design, his training in Italy, specifically the influence of the Italian Baroque, never left Kent's work (he was trained as a Baroque painter). The design of his famous console tables can be traced directly to Roman Baroque examples, and even some of interiors are Baroque, most notably his magnificently over-the-top staircase at 44 Berkeley Square in London. Little known is that Kent also designed for the theater, a result, very likely, of his admiration of the work of Inigo Jones.

Date of Birth: 1723
Date of Death: 1796
Nationality: British
Notes: Chambers was born in Goteborg, Sweden, to English parents. He was sent to England for his education and returned to Sweden when he was 16, where he worked for the Swedish East India Company between 1740 and 1749. His work for the company took him to the Far East three times, giving him an unparalleled first-hand knowledge of Asian architecture, a unique qualification among European architects of the day. Chambers made enough money in the Far East to retire at any early age and pursue the practice of architecture. He studied architecture in Paris and Italy, staying in the latter for five years. In 1755 he returned to England, where he began his architecture practice. In 1757 Chambers was appointed architectural tutor to the young Prince of Wales (later George III), which resulted in royal favor for the rest of his life. Chambers's publications included the very influential "Treatise on Civil Architecture" (1759), which became the standard work on the classical tradition, and "Designs of Chinese Buildings, Furniture, Dresses, Machines and Utensils" of 1757. In 1767 he became architect to the Office of Works, followed by appointment as the comptroller of the Works in 1769. Chambers was essential in the formation of the Royal Academy and designed its new home, Somerset House, possibly his most famous work. He was made a knight of the Polar Star by the King of Sweden.