Portrait of Eliza Sharpe
Portrait Miniature
1818-1819 (painted)
1818-1819 (painted)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Eliza Sharpe (Birmingham, 1796-1874) was a succesful miniature and subject painter in Britain around the turn of the nineteenth century. She exhibited 48 works at the Royal Academy, most of which were portrait miniatures, as well as 84 paintings at the Old Watercolour Society, and further exhibitions in Liverpool and at the Royal Manchester Institution. Towards the end of her life, she copied mainly paintings at the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) and exhibited these at the Society of Female Artists. Sharpe came from a close-knit artistic family: her father, the engraver William Sharpe, likely taught her and her sisters Louisa, Mary Ann, and Charlotte how to paint. The family moved to London in 1816, when all daughters swiftly began exhibiting at the Royal Academy. This lively and youthful portrait of Eliza by her sister Mary Anne was painted in the years following their arrival in 1818-1819, early in both of their careers. Mary Anne Sharpe (Birmingham, 1802-1867) would go on to exhibit 19 works at the Royal Academy, 25 at the Society of British Artists, and several more in Liverpool, at the Royal Manchester Institution, and the Society of Female Artists. Eliza and Mary Anne never married, and they exhibited from the same London address for some time.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Portrait of Eliza Sharpe (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Watercolour on ivory |
Brief description | Portrait miniature, Portrait of Eliza Sharpe, by Mary Ann Sharpe, watercolour on ivory, 1818-1819 |
Physical description | Rectangular portrait miniature on ivory of Eliza Sharpe in a black dress and feathered headdress against an autumnal forest landscape |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Marks and inscriptions | Portrait of Eliza Sharpe painted by Mary Ann Sharpe 1818-1819 (Inscribed on the reverse) |
Credit line | Given by Mrs. W. H. Jeffery |
Historical context | Portrait miniatures were frequently exchanged between loved ones and family in Britain as tokens of affection and remembrance. This miniature was painted by the artist's sister, and would have had an even further intimate function. |
Subjects depicted | |
Association | |
Summary | Eliza Sharpe (Birmingham, 1796-1874) was a succesful miniature and subject painter in Britain around the turn of the nineteenth century. She exhibited 48 works at the Royal Academy, most of which were portrait miniatures, as well as 84 paintings at the Old Watercolour Society, and further exhibitions in Liverpool and at the Royal Manchester Institution. Towards the end of her life, she copied mainly paintings at the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) and exhibited these at the Society of Female Artists. Sharpe came from a close-knit artistic family: her father, the engraver William Sharpe, likely taught her and her sisters Louisa, Mary Ann, and Charlotte how to paint. The family moved to London in 1816, when all daughters swiftly began exhibiting at the Royal Academy. This lively and youthful portrait of Eliza by her sister Mary Anne was painted in the years following their arrival in 1818-1819, early in both of their careers. Mary Anne Sharpe (Birmingham, 1802-1867) would go on to exhibit 19 works at the Royal Academy, 25 at the Society of British Artists, and several more in Liverpool, at the Royal Manchester Institution, and the Society of Female Artists. Eliza and Mary Anne never married, and they exhibited from the same London address for some time. |
Bibliographic reference | Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings Accessions 1968 London: HMSO, 1969 |
Collection | |
Accession number | P.61-1968 |
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Record created | June 30, 2009 |
Record URL |
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