Maria Flaxman (1768–1833) was an English painter and illustrator.

Life

Maria, also noted as Mary Ann or Maria T Flaxman, was the half-sister of

John Flaxman John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several ye ...

, she was influenced by his work and assisted him in the last years of his life. Maria Flaxman was employed as a

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, ...

to the Hare-Naylor family while they were living in Italy and at

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

. In 1810 she moved to John Flaxman's house at Buckingham Street, just off The Strand in

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

, residing there until his death. She is best known for six designs engraved by

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...

, illustrations published in the 1803 edition of

William Hayley William Hayley (9 November 174512 November 1820) was an English writer, best known as the biographer of his friend William Cowper. Biography Born at Chichester, he was sent to Eton in 1757, and to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 1762; his conne ...

's ''Triumphs of Temper.'' Her works were contributed to 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 ...

between 1780 and 1819, primarily designs for illustration of poetry and romance. Lausanne1806-title by Maria Flaxman

In his ''Life of Blake'',

Alexander Gilchrist Alexander Gilchrist (182830 November 1861), an English author, is known mainly as a biographer of William Etty and of William Blake. Gilchrist's biography of Blake is still a standard reference work about the poet. Gilchrist was born at Newingto ...

describes the work for Hayley's poem, finally issued in 1807,

"These amateur designs, aiming at an idealized domesticity, are expressive and beautiful in the Flaxman- Stothard manner; abound in grace of line, elegance of composition, and other artist-like virtues of a now obsolete sort."

There is a self portrait on ivory in the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

and a diary from 1806 in the Bodleian Library.

References

External links

*Illustrations i
''The Butterfly's Funeral''
J. L. B. and

William Roscoe William Roscoe (8 March 175330 June 1831) was an English banker, lawyer, and briefly a Member of Parliament. He is best known as one of England's first abolitionists, and as the author of the poem for children ''The Butterfly's Ball, and the G ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaxman, Maria 1768 births 1833 deaths 18th-century English women artists 19th-century English women artists British women illustrators English women artists English illustrators