Anne Margaret Coke, Viscountess Anson (25 January 1779 – 23 May 1843), was an English painter, the daughter of
Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester of Holkham, and wife of
Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson
Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson (14 February 1767 – 31 July 1818) was a British politician and peer from the Anson family.
Background and career
Thomas Anson was born 14 February 1767, the first son of George Anson, of Shugborough and Mar ...
.
Personal life
Anne Margaret Coke was born at Holkam Hall on 25 January 1779 to
Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester of Holkham, and Jane Dutton. Anne had an older sister, Jane, born in 1777, and a younger sister, Elizabeth born in 1795, one year after Anne was married. Jane was married by that time, too. Her mother was an abolitionist, spent her allowance on donations to the poor and theater tickets for her servants. Jane Dutton also believed in the importance of a good education for her children.
At the age of 15, Anne Margaret Coke was married to 27-year-old
Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson
Thomas Anson, 1st Viscount Anson (14 February 1767 – 31 July 1818) was a British politician and peer from the Anson family.
Background and career
Thomas Anson was born 14 February 1767, the first son of George Anson, of Shugborough and Mar ...
, in September 1794. He was a
member of parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
, worth £22,000 () per year, and heir to
Shugborough estate in Staffordshire. The
Duke of Sussex
Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several royal dukedoms, that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It takes its name fr ...
said that he was a "true manly, noble, splendid fellow, possessing much of the real English character, sound sense, and although perhaps hurried away a little too much by country sports, has a great deal of good in him."
According to Susanna Wade Martins, Anne was described as "thin, excitable, energetic, never quiet, constantly getting into quarrels, but always ready to help others. Dawson Turner described her as a woman of sweet character and a pleasing personality.
Anson gave birth to eleven children, four by the time she was 20 years of age.
She died 23 May 1843 in London. Her tomb, in Colwich,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, was sculpted by
John Francis.
[Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis p.158]
Artist
Susanna Wade Martins in ''Coke of Norfolk (1754–1842)'' states that Anne was likely taught to draw by
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...
in Norfolk and London. One of her paintings of a milk girl was made after one of Gainsborough's paintings. She was said to have made a painting of a nest of owls that was considered "very well done" by
Benjamin Haydon
Benjamin Robert Haydon (; 26 January 178622 June 1846) was a British painter who specialised in grand historical pictures, although he also painted a few contemporary subjects and portraits. His commercial success was damaged by his often tactles ...
. Mrs. Powys, who visited Shugborough in 1800, stated that competent works by Anson were in every room of the house, including three full-length paintings of her children.
Shugborough Hall
Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England.
The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about east of Stafford and from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the dissolutio ...
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File:Anne Margaret Coke, Animals Sheltering in a Storm, Shugborough Hall, National Trust.jpg
File:Anne Margaret Coke, Thomas William Anson (1795–1854), Anne Margaret Anson (1796–1882), and George Anson (1797–1857), as Children , Shugborough Hall.jpg
File:Anne Margaret Coke, Elijah and the Ravens (after Teniers), Shugborough Hall, National Trust.jpg
* ''Animals Sheltering in a Storm'', after
(1795–1854), Later 1st Earl of Lichfield, Anne Margaret Anson (1796–1882), Later
(1797–1857), Later Major General and Commander in Chief of India, as Children''
* ''Elijah and the Ravens,'' after Teniers