Rolinda Sharples (1793–1838) was an English painter who specialised in portraits and genre paintings in oil. She exhibited 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 ...

and at the

Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

, where she became an honorary member.

Biography

Rolinda Sharples was born into a family of artists headed by

James Sharples James Sharples may refer to: * James Sharples (portrait painter) (1751/52–1811), English portrait painter and pastelist * James Sharples (blacksmith) (1825–1893), English blacksmith and self-taught artist and engraver * James Sharples (cricket ...

, her father, and

Ellen Sharples Ellen Wallace Sharples (4 March 1769 – 14 March 1849) was an English painter specialized in portraits in pastel and in watercolor miniatures on ivory. She exhibited five miniatures at the Royal Academy in 1807, and founded the Bristol Fine Ar ...

, her mother who had studied under her husband and continued to assist James in his studio after their marriage. Ellen Sharples not only made copies of her husband's better known compositions but she additionally received requests for her own work. Rolinda's three brothers also pursued careers in art. They were: George, from her father's first marriage; Felix, from his second marriage; and James Jr., who was Rolinda's full brother and son to Ellen, James's third wife. She was only an infant when her parents moved to America in 1793. Rolinda spent two periods in America, the first between 1793 and 1801 and the second from 1809 to 1811. In 1803, Rolinda's mother, a miniature portrait painter, began to encourage her daughter to take an interest in the profession. She taught Rolinda drawing, paying her small sums of money to encourage her. By the time Rolinda was 13 years old, she had joined the family business, which consisted of creating small scale pastel portraits of famous people, copying them and selling them for a profit. Along with her two brothers and mother, she began copying miniature portraits from her father's original paintings. After her father's death in New York in 1811, Rolinda returned to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

with her mother and brother. She branched out from painting small portraits, to earning her living painting portraits in oil, and more ambitious genre and contemporary history paintings that depicted groups of people. During this time, her mother Ellen's diaries shifted their focus to Rolinda's progress as an artist. In 1812, Ellen wrote of her daughter: "Rolinda commenced oil painting on the 21, & has since applied with great ardour, continuing other studies, & having lessons in music, practising &c." Soon thereafter in 1813, Ellen notes that she "sat for my picture to Rolinda in oil colours as large as life, kit kat size, the first portrait she painted in oil." Rolinda painted her mother several times. At the end of 1813, she painted a large as life portrait, having, as her mother observed, "much improved in painting and become discontented with the portrait executed in Jan. 7." In 1814, Rolinda painted a self-portrait, and in 1815 she completed a double portrait entitled ''The Artist and Her Mother''. A signature device of the artist was to paint herself into the background of many of her works, often pictured with a wry smile, gazing directly into the eyes of the observer. Rolinda was elected an honorary member of the

in 1827. Rolinda was one of the first female British artists to tackle multi-figure compositions. Her group paintings were as meticulous in detail as the small portraits she once painted, and today her scenes of Regency Bristol are considered to be accurate social records of the period. Her major paintings include ''The Cloak Room, Clifton Assembly Rooms;'' ''Racing on the Downs''; ''Rownham Ferry with Portraits''; ''The Stoppage of the Bank''; and ''The Trial of Colonel Brereton after the

Bristol riots The Bristol riots refer to a number of significant riots in the city of Bristol in England. Bristol Bridge riot, 1793 In 1794 the populace of Bristol were said to be "apt to collect in mobs on the slightest occasions; but have been seldom so sp ...

of 1831''. Rolinda also painted smaller, more intimate studies from nature – of shells, or of a little mouse – which she exhibited. Rolinda's paintings were included in exhibitions in Bristol, Leeds, Birmingham, and Carlisle, and with the

and the Society of British Artists in London. For the last eight years of her life she lived with her mother in

Hotwells Hotwells is a neighbourhood in the English port city of Bristol. It is located to the south of and below the high ground of Clifton, and directly to the north of the Floating Harbour. The southern entrance to the Avon Gorge, which connects th ...

area of Bristol, and died of breast cancer in 1838. Many of her paintings are now in the

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture and Creative Industries it is run by the Bristol City Council with no ...

Personal papers

Letters, legal papers, bank and account books relating to the family of Rolinda Sharples are held at

Bristol Archives Bristol Archives (formerly Bristol Record Office) was established in 1924. It was the first borough record office in the United Kingdom, since at that time there was only one other local authority record office (Bedfordshire Record Office, Bedf ...

(Ref. 15395) (online catalogue).

''The Cloakroom, Clifton Assembly Rooms, 1818''

This painting, which is on display in the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, has become one of Rolinda's most recognisable images for fans of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

and the

British Regency The Regency era of British history is commonly understood as the years between and 1837, although the official regency for which it is named only spanned the years 1811 to 1820. King George III first suffered debilitating illness in the lat ...

. The image has been used for numerous books, most notably ''A Portrait of Jane Austen'', by David Cecil, ''Jane Austen's World'', by Maggie Lane, and ''High Society'', by Venetia Murray. One reason for its popular use might be that only a few Georgian paintings exist today that depict assemblies in progress, with people dancing or moving around. Rolinda's painting shows a group in the cloakroom preparing for the evening. The Clifton Assembly Rooms still survive to this day.

Royal Academy paintings

The listing in a book of The Royal Academy Exhibitors, shows that she exhibited her works in 1820, 1822, and 1824. *1820 – Shells; Eliza at Work, A Market, Portrait of a Lady *1822 – Rownham Ferry With Portraits, The Young Delinquent *1824 – A mouse

Gallery

File:Picnic in England, also known as The Sharples Family by Rolinda Sharples.jpg, ''Picnic in England'', 1825 File:Rolinda Sharples (1793-1838) - The Stoppage of the Bank - K1079 - Bristol City Museum ^ Art Gallery.jpg, ''The Stoppage of the Bank'', c. 1825 File:Rolinda Sharples (1793-1838) - Cheddar - K1087 - Bristol City Museum ^ Art Gallery.jpg, ''Cheddar'', 1828 File:Rolinda Sharples - village gossips-BST BMAGG K1076-001.jpg, ''Village Gossips'', 1828 File:Rolinda Sharples (1793-1838) - The Trial of Colonel Brereton - K1074 - Bristol City Museum ^ Art Gallery.jpg, ''The Trial of Colonel Brereton'', 1831 File:Rolinda Sharples (1793-1838) - The Clifton Racecourse - K1073 - Bristol City Museum ^ Art Gallery.jpg, ''

The Clifton Racecourse ''The Clifton Racecourse'' is an 1836 genre painting by the British artist Rolinda Sharples. It shows a horseracing meeting taking place at Durdham Down near Clifton. The Bath-born Sharples was active in the port city of Bristol during the Regen ...

'', 1836

References

External links

*
The Sharples Family and Legal Papers: 1794 – 1854, Dr. Diane WaggonerRolinda Sharples:Painted out of HistoryWomen in Bristol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharples, Rolinda 1793 births 1838 deaths 19th-century English painters Artists from Bath, Somerset Painters from Bristol English genre painters Deaths from breast cancer in England English portrait painters People from Clifton, Bristol Sibling artists 19th-century English women painters