Cosway, RICHARD, R.A.

Cosway, RICHARD, R.A., miniature-painter, was born in 1740, son of the master of Tiverton school in Devonshire. He early displayed a taste for painting, and studied in London under Hudson, in Shipley's school, and in the Royal Academy, of which he became an associate in 1770, and a member in 1771. He painted oil-subjects, aiming at the sweetness and softness of Correggio; but it was in portraiture that he made his mark, and soon his miniatures were 'not only fashionable, but the fashion itself.' Having gained the personal friendship of the Prince of Wales, he was appointed his painter-in-ordinary, and Mrs Fitzherbert and all the beauties of the coterie sat to him. His small female full-lengths with the faces finished in water-colour, though slight in execution, are full of exquisite grace; and his ivory miniatures are also delicate and valuable. Personally Cosway was vain and eccentric. He died 4th July 1821. In 1781 he married MARIA HADFIELD, a skilful musician, also known as an artist; she executed subjects for Boydell's Shakespeare, and Macklin's Poets. She separated from her husband, and is believed to have died in a convent at Lyons.