Richard and Maria Cosway

Richard Cosway, born in Tiverton, Devon, was once a more famous artist than Gainsborough. His portraits of the fashionable were highly popular in Regency London. He and his wife Maria entertained everybody who was anybody. A talented artist in her own right, Maria was also a composer, musician and an authority on girls’ education. And yet, save for Richard Cosway’s pre-eminence as a miniaturist, he and Maria have long been neglected, their reputation tarnished by rumour and misrepresentation. This biography seeks to represent them in a clearer light, emphasizing their achievements as artists and individuals and rehabilitating them as major figures in the artisic history of 18th-century England.