Vase of Flowers thumbnail 1
Vase of Flowers thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, room WS , Case R, Shelf 9, Box R

Vase of Flowers

Painting
1764 (made)
Artist/Maker
Moser, Mary RA (painter (artist))
Place of origin
Britain (made)

Mary Moser RA (1744-1819) was a renowned British painter and one of only two female Founder members of the Royal Academy as well as its youngest Founder member at just 24. She was celebrated for her vibrant flower paintings and painted portraits and historical subjects as well. By the age of 14, Moser won her first Society of Arts medal, and she regularly exhibited at the Society of Artists of Great Britain. From the Royal Academy’s opening in 1769 until 1802, when her eyesight prevented her from continuing painting, Moser exhibited thirty-six pieces at the Royal Academy. She received a vote for Academy president twice. In 1792, Queen Charlotte paid Mary Moser £900 to decorate the South Pavilion at Frogmore House. Many of her works survive today in the ‘Mary Moser Room’ and across eminent museum collections in Britain and America.




Object details

Category
Paintings
Object type
Painting
TitleVase of Flowers (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Tempera
Tempera
Painting
Brief description
Painting, Vase of Flowers, by Mary Moser, tempera, 1764
Physical description
Tempera painting entitled 'Vase of Flowers'. Dated on the back.
Dimensions
  • Height: 60cm
  • Width: 36cm
Object history
In 1792, Queen Charlotte acquired Frogmore House and commissioned the architect James Wyatt to extend it. This included the South Pavilion, which was to be entirely decorated with flower paintings by Mary Moser. The commission of Mary Moser’s decorative scheme cost over £900. Moser also taught the daughters of George III and Queen Charlotte drawing, likely at Frogmore House. This painting was formerly in the collection of Queen Charlotte.
Subjects depicted
Still Life, Flowers
Vases
Summary
Mary Moser RA (1744-1819) was a renowned British painter and one of only two female Founder members of the Royal Academy as well as its youngest Founder member at just 24. She was celebrated for her vibrant flower paintings and painted portraits and historical subjects as well. By the age of 14, Moser won her first Society of Arts medal, and she regularly exhibited at the Society of Artists of Great Britain. From the Royal Academy’s opening in 1769 until 1802, when her eyesight prevented her from continuing painting, Moser exhibited thirty-six pieces at the Royal Academy. She received a vote for Academy president twice. In 1792, Queen Charlotte paid Mary Moser £900 to decorate the South Pavilion at Frogmore House. Many of her works survive today in the ‘Mary Moser Room’ and across eminent museum collections in Britain and America.


Bibliographic references
  • Andaleeb Badiee Banta and Alexa Greist with Theresa Kutasz Christensen. Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe, 1400-1800. Toronto, Baltimore, and Fredericton: Art Gallery of Ontario, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Goose Lane Editions, 2023.
  • Paris A. Spies-Gans. A Revolution on Canvas: The Rise of Women Artists in Britain and France, 1760-1830. New Haven and London: Yale University Press and the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, 2022.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
377-1872

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O16428/vase-of-flowers-painting-moser-mary-ra/
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