Bernard Lens III (1682–1740) 

• Was an English artist known primarily for his portrait miniatures.
• Lens, the son of mezzotint engraver Bernard Lens II, was born in London in 1682.
• In 1698 became an apprentice to an artist known as Sturt
• In 1704 Lens joined the Rose and Crown Club, an art society frequented by William Hogarth and George Vertue.
• Lens established himself as a portrait miniaturist, and in 1707 became the first British artist to replace vellum, the traditional medium of miniatures, with ivory.
• The difficult skill of painting watercolours on ivory was invented in Venice by Rosalba Carriera around 1700 and quickly spread over Europe.
• Bernard Lens III and his wife Katherine had at least three sons, among them Bernard Lens IV.
• His main competitor was Christian Friedrich Zincke, who worked in enamel.
• The "Entire and Elaborate Works of Mr. Bernard Lens" were auctioned by Christopher Cock on 11–12 February 1737.
• Lens was the miniature painter at the courts of kings George I and George II.
• Instructor in miniature painting (then called limning) to prince William and princesses Mary and Louise.
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