RICHARD COSWAY, R.A. (1742-1821): NOTABLE WORKS

Richard Cosway was the premier society miniaturist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries - the period regarded as the heyday of British miniature painting.

He was appointed miniature painter to the Prince of Wales, later George IV (1762-1830), whom he also counted as a personal friend. His clientele reads as a ‘who’s who’ of the great and the good of the age; the Prince was one many famous figures who both sat for Cosway and frequented the salon he hosted at his grand house on Pall Mall with his artist wife, Maria. Cosway and his wife became well known personalities themselves, he known as ‘The Macaroni Miniature Painter’[1].

Find about more about the artist and sitters by clicking on the caption below the images. For further reading, we’d recommend Stephen Lloyd’s Richard and Maria Cosway: Regency Artists of Taste and Fashion, 1995 (National Galleries of Scotland).

A pair of portrait miniatures depicting husband and wife, John and Mary Anne Magaret (née Osborn) Wilkinson; c.1782; watercolour on ivory and both housed in gold clasp frames, with details of their marriage inscribed on the reverse; both 25mm (1 in) high – for sale with The Limner Company.

A Courting Couple seated under a tree; c.1785 ; pen and brown ink on laid paper; 23.3 x 18.9 cm (9 ¹/₈ x 7 ¹/₂ inches) – previously sold by The Limner Company.

Prince Henryk Ludwick Lubomirski (1777–1850), as a boy; 1787; watercolour on ivory; 76 mm (3 in.) high - previously sold by The Limner Company.

Lady Anne Wellesley (1768-1844), later Lady Fitzroy, and later still Lady Culling Smith; 1788; watercolour on ivory; 67 mm. (2 ⅝ in.) high – for sale with The Limner Company.

A young Girl; 1789; watercolour on ivory; 73 mm (2 ⁷/₈ in.) high – previously sold by The Limner Company.

William Joseph Denison (1770-1849), banker and politician; c.1790; watercolour on ivory; 80 mm (3 ⅛ in) high – for sale with The Limner Company.

John Harrison (1755-1818), president of the Canton establishment of the East India Company; c.1790; watercolour on ivory; 80 mm (3 1/8in) high – for sale with The Limner Company.

John Bowes, 10th Earl of Strathmore (1769-1820); 1791; watercolour on ivory; 86 mm (3 2/5in) high - previously sold by The Limner Company.

Mary Frances (Fanny) Swinburne (1771-1828); c.1793; watercolour on ivory; 76mm (2 11/16 in.) high – recently sold by The Limner Company.

Thomas Augustus Hervey (1775-1796); 1793; watercolour on ivory; 77 mm (3 1⁄16 in.) high – for sale with The Limner Company.

Lady Charlotte Townshend, née Loftus (1792-1866); 1812; watercolour on ivory; 75mm (2 13/16in) high – for sale with The Limner Company.

To view all works currently for sale with The Limner Company, click here.

Footnotes:
[1] Caricaturist Matthew Darly first called Cosway 'The Miniature Macaroni’ in an etching published in 1772, and the title stuck.

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