Richard Dighton (1795 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

– 13 April 1880 in London), was an English artist in the

Regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

period, best known for his many satirical profile portraits of contemporary London celebrities and characters. He was the son and apprentice of another noted caricaturist,

Robert Dighton Robert Dighton was born c.1752 in London and died there in 1814. An English portrait painter, printmaker and caricaturist, he was the founder of a dynasty of artists who followed in his footsteps. Life and work Robert Dighton was the son of t ...

(1752–1814), and brother of the battle-scene painter

Denis Dighton Denis Dighton (1792 – 8 August 1827) was an English painter, best known for his military portraits and battle scenes. Life Denis Dighton was the son of the caricaturist Robert Dighton and a younger brother was Richard Dighton. He enrolled a ...

and of Robert Dighton junior. The works of Robert and Richard Dighton are regarded as predecessors of the Vanity Fair style of the late nineteenth century. His series of City and West End portraits was started in 1817, and he published more than one hundred etchings during the next decade. From 1828 on he produced no further etchings and settled and worked in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

where he spent the next twenty years, thereafter returning to London. He concentrated firstly on watercolour portraits and after 1835 on lithographic portraits. Richard Dighton died of an '

enlarged prostate Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also called prostate enlargement, is a noncancerous increase in size of the prostate gland. Symptoms may include frequent urination, trouble starting to urinate, weak stream, inability to urinate, or loss o ...

and Bright's disease' at 3 Elm Grove,

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

on 13 April 1880 aged 84.Selling Antiques
/ref> His sons Richard junior and Joshua were also portraitists.

References

External links

British Museum
* 1795 births 1880 deaths English caricaturists Artists from London Deaths from kidney disease {{UK-illustrator-stub