Alexander Pope (176322 March 1835) was an Irish actor and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Life

He was born in Cork, Ireland. He was educated to follow his father's profession of miniature painting. He continued to paint miniatures and exhibit them at 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 ...

as late as 1821; but at an early date he took the stage, first appearing in London as Oroonoko in 1785 at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

. He remained at this theatre almost continuously for nearly twenty years, then at the

Haymarket Haymarket may refer to: Places Australia * Haymarket, New South Wales, area of Sydney, Australia Germany * Heumarkt (KVB), transport interchange in Cologne on the site of the Heumarkt (literally: hay market) Russia * Sennaya Square (''Hay Squ ...

until his retirement, playing leading parts, chiefly tragic. He was well known as

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

and

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. He played for the first time in Edinburgh on 15 June 1786, as

Family

He was married three times. His first wife, Elizabeth (1744–1797), a favourite English actress of great versatility, was billed before her marriage as Miss Younge. His second wife, Maria Ann Campion (1775–1803), also a popular actress, was a member of an Irish family. His third wife, born Clara Maria Leigh (1768–1838), was the widow of the artist Francis Wheatley, and herself a skilful painter of figures and of flowers, under the name of Mrs Pope.

References

External links

Neil Jeffares Dictionary of pastellists before 1800
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Alexander 1763 births 1835 deaths Irish male stage actors People from County Cork 18th-century Irish painters 19th-century Irish painters Irish male painters 18th-century Irish male actors Irish emigrants to Great Britain 19th-century Irish male artists