Mrs Lothian

Scottish miniaturist Charles Shirreff was one of the more talented and distinct of the many miniaturists active at the end of the 18th century. Shirreff, who became deaf at the age of three or four, studied at Thomas Braidwood’s Academy for the Deaf and Dumb, the first dedicated school for the deaf to be founded in Britain. At the age of 18, Shirreff moved to London to study at the Royal Academy Schools, graduating in 1772 with a silver medal. He quickly established himself as a miniaturist, while also exhibiting oil paintings, pastels and drawings at the Royal Academy, the Free Society of Artists and the British Institute.

Through his friendship with the Scottish merchant, diplomat and political satirist, Caleb Whitefoord, Shirreff made several advantageous acquaintances, including the president of the Royal Academy, Sir Joshua Reynolds and the leading miniaturists, Richard Cosway. These connections doubtless aided Shirreff in building a clientele that included the celebrated actress Sarah Siddons and her brother, the actor Charles Kemble. Shirreff was reportedly very fond of the theatre and some of his most successful miniatures show an actor or actress mis-en-scène.

In 1795, after several years working in Bath, Shirreff achieved a long-held ambition to go to India as an artist. He worked first in Madras (now Chennai) and later Calcutta (now Kolkata) before returning to London in 1809. While in India he purportedly developed a form of sign language he called his ‘finger alphabet’, but no example is known to survive.

Based on the sitter’s ‘pouf’ hairstyle, this miniature likely dates from the end of the 1780s, before Shirreff’s Indian period. The artist’s characteristically neat cross-hatching is apparent throughout this miniature, especially in the areas of shadow. Like many miniaturists working at this time, Shirreff has enlarged the eyes somewhat, but generally his modelling of the features is strong and effective. His intention seems to have been to create a good likeness of Mrs Lothian, rather than to flatter.