Louisa Sharpe (1798 – 28 January 1843) was a British miniature painter who was one of four gifted sisters

Life

Sharpe was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

to Sussanna (born Fairhead?) and an engraver named William Sharpe and she was baptised on 21 August 1798 at St Phillip's church. She had three sisters, Eliza Sharpe, Charlotte Sharpe and Mary Ann Sharpe who all became artists. The parents allowed Louisa and the other daughters to travel to the continent to inspect galleries in France and Germany and each of the daughters was taught to engrave. Louisa-Sharpe portrait of a turkish lady holding a Rose

Louisa-Sharpe portrait of a turkish lady holding a Rose

William and Sussanna moved the Sharpe family to London in 1816. Whilst she was a child she was painted with her sister Eliza by

George Henry Harlow George Henry Harlow (10 June 1787 – 4 February 1819) was an English painter known mostly for his portraits. Life Harlow was born in St. James's Street, London, the posthumous son of a China merchant, who after some years' residence in ...

. Sharpe was said to be the most talented of the four female artists in the family. She had nearly thirty paintings accepted at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

starting in 1817. From 1829 Sharpe was elected to the (old) Watercolour Society. She created sentimental and commercial images including poets and people in costume. These highly finished pictures were engraved and appeared in annuals. Her image of "Ellen Strathallan" was engraved in 1829 and appeared in the ''Forget-Me-Not'' annual.Index of Original Artists
Forget-Me-Not archive, retrieved 10 January 2015 Her work also appeared in Heath’s ‘Book of Beauty’ and in ''

The Keepsake ''The Keepsake'' was an English literary annual which ran from 1828 to 1857, published each Christmas from 1827 to 1856, for perusal during the year of the title. Like other literary annuals, ''The Keepsake'' was an anthology of short fiction, po ...

'' annual for 1832. Her painting, ''Do You Remember It?'', appeared in the annual, engraved by

Charles Heath Charles Theodosius Heath (1 March 1785 – 18 November 1848) was a British engraver, currency and stamp printer, book publisher and illustrator. Life and career He was the illegitimate son of James Heath, a successful engraver who enjoyed ...

and with illustrative verse by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. Sharpe married Professor Woldemar Seyffarth in 1834 and she moved to live with him in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. Sharpe still painted and her work was exhibited in London as her husband had his own business to conduct in Britain. Anna Brownell Jameson wrote of Louisa and Eliza Sharpe that no man could paint like they did. This was not because their work was so clever but because it was so essentially feminine. Sharpe died in 1843 in Dresden. She had two daughters and one, Agnes Seyffarth exhibited her pictures.

External links

* An engraving by

Henry Thomas Ryall Henry Thomas Ryall (August 1811 – 14 September 1867) was an English line, stipple and mixed-method engraver and later used mixed mezzotint. Ryall was appointed the royal engraver by Queen Victoria. Forty of his works are in the Nationa ...

of with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon in Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833. * Picture in oil colours by George Baxter of (as by Mrs Sayffarth) in Pictorial Album; or, Cabinet of Paintings, 1837, with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon * Painting of (as Louisa Seyffarth), engraved by

John Henry Robinson John Henry Robinson (1796–1871) was an English engraver. Life He was born at Bolton, Lancashire and was brought up in Staffordshire. At the age of 18 he became a pupil of James Heath (engraver), James Heath, for about two years. Robinson was ...

for Flowers of Loveliness, 1838, with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharpe, Louisa 1798 births 1843 deaths Artists from Birmingham, West Midlands Portrait painters 19th-century English painters English watercolourists Sibling artists