Marianne Croker (1791–1854) was an English watercolour painter and author of the 19th century.

Early life

Croker was born as Marianne Nicholson. Croker's father was

Francis Nicholson Lieutenant-General Francis Nicholson (12 November 1655 – ) was a British Army general and colonial official who served as the Governor of South Carolina from 1721 to 1725. He previously was the Governor of Nova Scotia from 1712 to 1715, the ...

, a leading

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

ist. Croker had a brother, Alfred.

Career

Some time after 1818, Croker and her brother Alfred made the acquaintance of

Thomas Crofton Croker Thomas Crofton Croker (15 January 1798 – 8 August 1854) was an Irish antiquary, best known for his ''Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland'' (1825–1828), and who also showed considerable interest in Irish song and music. ...

, then a civil servant with antiquarian interests. The three made a number of trips to the south of Ireland to gather material for a proposed publication – ''Researches in the South of Ireland'' (1824) – to which Marianne contributed illustrations. In Marianne, Thomas Croker found a partner who shared his interests and talents, and the two made numerous visits to Ireland in support of Thomas's later publications dealing with

Celtic folklore Celtic folklore may refer to: The Folklore in the modern Celtic nations: * Hebridean mythology and folklore * Irish folklore * Scottish folklore * Welsh folklore Or the mythologies of ancient and modern Celtic peoples: * Celtic mythology * Irish ...

. Marianne's extensive contributions to Thomas's work are largely unacknowledged. Croker was the author of two books, ''Barney Mahoney'' and ''My Village Versus Our Village'' – both published at her request under her husband's name. She also exhibited a number of

landscape painting Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compos ...

Personal life

In 1830, Croker married

, a civil servant with interests in antiquity. They had one child,

Thomas Francis Dillon Croker Thomas Francis Dillon Croker FSA FRGS (1831–1912) was a British antiquary and poet. In the literature, he is usually referred to as "T. F. Dillon Croker". He was the only child of Thomas Crofton Croker, and Marianne Croker; his parents collabor ...

, an amateur antiquary and poet. On 6 October 1854, Croker died in England, two months after the death of her husband. She was buried at

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

in London (in the same grave as her husband) on 10 October.

References

Works cited * * * *

External links

Croker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croker, Marianne 1791 births 1854 deaths 19th-century English novelists 19th-century English painters Burials at Brompton Cemetery English watercolourists English women painters 19th-century English poets English women poets English illustrators British women illustrators 19th-century English women writers 19th-century British women artists Women watercolorists