Louisa Sharpe (1798 – 28 January 1843) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

miniature painter who was one of four gifted sisters

Life

Sharpe was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

to Sussanna (born Fairhead?) and an engraver named William Sharpe and she was baptised on 21 August 1798 at St Phillip's church. She had three sisters, Eliza Sharpe, Charlotte Sharpe and Mary Ann Sharpe who all became artists. The parents allowed Louisa and the other daughters to travel to the continent to inspect galleries in France and Germany and each of the daughters was taught to engrave. Louisa-Sharpe portrait of a turkish lady holding a Rose

Louisa-Sharpe portrait of a turkish lady holding a Rose

William and Sussanna moved the Sharpe family to London in 1816. Whilst she was a child she was painted with her sister Eliza by

George Henry Harlow George Henry Harlow (10 June 1787 – 4 February 1819) was an English people, English painter known mostly for his portraits. Life Harlow was born in St. James's Street, London, the posthumous son of a China merchant, who after some yea ...

. Sharpe was said to be the most talented of the four female artists in the family. She had nearly thirty paintings accepted at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

starting in 1817. From 1829 Sharpe was elected to the (old) Watercolour Society. She created sentimental and commercial images including poets and people in costume. These highly finished pictures were engraved and appeared in annuals. Her image of "Ellen Strathallan" was engraved in 1829 and appeared in the ''Forget-Me-Not'' annual. Her work also appeared in Heath’s ‘Book of Beauty’ and in ''

The Keepsake ''The Keepsake'' was an English literary annual which ran from 1828 to 1857, published each Christmas from 1827 to 1856, for perusal during the year of the title. Like other literary annuals, ''The Keepsake'' was an anthology of short fiction, po ...

'' annual for 1832. Her painting, ''Do You Remember It?'', appeared in the annual, engraved by

Charles Heath Charles Theodosius Heath (1 March 1785 – 18 November 1848) was a British Engraving, engraver, currency and stamp printer, book publisher and illustrator. Life and career He was the illegitimate son of James Heath (engraver), James Heath, a su ...

and with illustrative verse by

Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. Landon's writings are emblematic of the transition from Romanticism to Victorian literature. Her first major b ...

. Her painting, "Constance," as engraved by Charles Heath, illustrated

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

's "

The Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Dream may also refer to: Art Paintings * ''The Dream'' (Detaille), an 1888 painting by Édouard D ...

" in ''The Keepsake for MDCCCXXXII.'' Her painting, "Flora," as engraved by

Francis Engleheart Francis Engleheart (1775–1849) was an English engraver. Life Engleheart, born in London in 1775, was nephew of George Engleheart, and grandson of Francis Engleheart of Kew. He served as apprentice to Joseph Collyer the younger, and subsequentl ...

, illustrated Shelley's "The Brother and Sister: An Italian Story" in ''The Keepsake for MDCCCXXXIII''.Mary Shelley. ''Collected Tales and Stories with Original Engravings.'' Edited by Charles E. Robinson. Baltimore:

The Johns Hopkins University Press Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publish ...

, 1976, 154, 383, 187, 386. An unspecified Miss Sharpe illustrated "Juliet" as engraved by J. C. Edwards for Shelley's "

Transformation Transformation may refer to: Science and mathematics In biology and medicine * Metamorphosis, the biological process of changing physical form after birth or hatching * Malignant transformation, the process of cells becoming cancerous * Trans ...

" in ''The Keepsake for MDCCCXXXI'' 133, 381 Sharpe married Professor Woldemar Seyffarth in 1834 and she moved to live with him in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. Sharpe still painted and her work was exhibited in London as her husband had his own business to conduct in Britain.

Anna Brownell Jameson Anna Brownell Jameson (17 May 179417 March 1860) was an Anglo-Irish art historian whose work spanned art and literary criticism, philosophy, travel writing, and feminism. She became very well known for her extensive writings. Jameson was conne ...

wrote of Louisa and Eliza Sharpe that no man could paint like they did. This was not because their work was so clever but because it was so essentially feminine. Sharpe died in 1843 in Dresden. She had two daughters and one, Agnes Seyffarth exhibited her pictures.

External links

* An engraving by Henry Thomas Ryall of with a poetical illustration by

in Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833. * Picture in oil colours by George Baxter of (as by Mrs Sayffarth) in Pictorial Album; or, Cabinet of Paintings, 1837, with a poetical illustration by

* Painting of (as Louisa Seyffarth), engraved by

John Henry Robinson John Henry Robinson (1796–1871) was an English engraver. Life He was born at Bolton, Lancashire and was brought up in Staffordshire. At the age of 18 he became a pupil of James Heath, for about two years. Robinson was one of the nine eminen ...

for Flowers of Loveliness, 1838, with a poetical illustration by

. * Painting entitled , engraved by

for Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1839 with a poetical illustration by

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharpe, Louisa 1798 births 1843 deaths Painters from Birmingham, West Midlands English portrait painters 19th-century English painters English watercolourists Sibling artists