Caroline Watson 19th century
Medium oil on canvas
cyf The Miniature British 1760-1814,Daughter of James Watson. In 1780 she signed a stipple print of Isaac Watts and was soon employed by John Boydell (e.g. Prince William of Gloucester, 1784, after Joshua Reynolds). In 1785 she became Engraver to Queen Charlotte (1744-1818), a keen print collector. She was particularly fitted to working after miniatures, such was the delicacy of her engraving, and some of her best prints are portraits and small subjects after Samuel Shelley (c. 1750-1808). She did private commissions of this kind, notably for the Bute family, and also engraved large plates, some for the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery, including the Death of Cardinal Beaufort (1792) after Reynolds, allegedly at his request. She was employed by William Hayley (1745-1820) on his Life of George Romney Esq (London, 1809), and the correspondence involved shows her as a reliable and respected professional.
