Margaret Carpenter (painter)
Encyclopedia
Margaret Carpenter born Margaret Sarah Geddes, was a British painter.
Very famous in her time, she mostly painted portraits in the manner of Sir Thomas Lawrence
. She was a close friend of Richard Parkes Bonington
.
in 1793 the daughter of Captain Alexander Geddes, who was of an Edinburgh family. She was taught art by a local drawing-master. Her first art studies were made from the pictures at Longford Castle, belonging to Lord Radnor. One of her copies of the head of a boy was awarded a gold medal by the Society of Arts. She went to London in 1814, and soon established her reputation as a fashionable portrait painter. She exhibited a portrait of Lord Folkestone at the Royal Academy in 1814, and a picture entitled ‘The Fortune Teller’ at the British Institution. She exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1818 and 1866. She also exhibited at the British Institution and at the Suffolk Street Gallery. Among her exhibited portraits were those of Sir H. Bunbury (1822), Lady Denbigh (1831), and Lady King (1835). Her last work was a portrait of Dr. Whewell. Three of her works are in the National Portrait Gallery, including portraits of her husband, Bonington and John Gibson, R.A.. There are also several 'leaving portraits' by her in the collection at Eton College. There is also one of her portraits at Frewen College, it has Helen Louisa Frewen and her son Edward. Her "Portrait of a Lady" hangs in the Neill-Cochran House Museum in Austin, Texas, and can be viewed during the museum's public hours or by appointment.
In 1817 she married William Hookham Carpenter
, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum and on his death in 1866, Queen Victoria conferred on her a pension of £100 p.a. This award was partly based on her husband's service, but also in recognition of her own artistic merits.
William and Margaret's children included two noted painters, another William
and Percy Carpenter
who both travelled.
She is also the maternal aunt of Wilkie Collins
, 19th-century writer; and sister-in-law to Wilkie's father, painter William Collins (The King of Inventors. Catherine Peters).
Her portraits follow in the tradition of Lawrence, but Wood found them to be more fanciful and feminine character, particularly in her portraits of children.
She died in London, on 13 November 1872, in her 80th year.
Very famous in her time, she mostly painted portraits in the manner of Sir Thomas Lawrence
Thomas Lawrence (painter)
Sir Thomas Lawrence RA FRS was a leading English portrait painter and president of the Royal Academy.Lawrence was a child prodigy. He was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper. At the age of ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his...
. She was a close friend of Richard Parkes Bonington
Richard Parkes Bonington
Richard Parkes Bonington was an English Romantic landscape painter. One of the most influential British artists of his time, the facility of his style was inspired by the old masters, yet was entirely modern in its application.-Life and work:Richard Parkes Bonington was born in the town of Arnold,...
.
Biography
Margaret Sarah Carpenter was born in SalisburySalisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
in 1793 the daughter of Captain Alexander Geddes, who was of an Edinburgh family. She was taught art by a local drawing-master. Her first art studies were made from the pictures at Longford Castle, belonging to Lord Radnor. One of her copies of the head of a boy was awarded a gold medal by the Society of Arts. She went to London in 1814, and soon established her reputation as a fashionable portrait painter. She exhibited a portrait of Lord Folkestone at the Royal Academy in 1814, and a picture entitled ‘The Fortune Teller’ at the British Institution. She exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1818 and 1866. She also exhibited at the British Institution and at the Suffolk Street Gallery. Among her exhibited portraits were those of Sir H. Bunbury (1822), Lady Denbigh (1831), and Lady King (1835). Her last work was a portrait of Dr. Whewell. Three of her works are in the National Portrait Gallery, including portraits of her husband, Bonington and John Gibson, R.A.. There are also several 'leaving portraits' by her in the collection at Eton College. There is also one of her portraits at Frewen College, it has Helen Louisa Frewen and her son Edward. Her "Portrait of a Lady" hangs in the Neill-Cochran House Museum in Austin, Texas, and can be viewed during the museum's public hours or by appointment.
In 1817 she married William Hookham Carpenter
William Hookham Carpenter
William Hookham Carpenter was a British Keeper of Prints at the British Museum.-Biography:Carpenter was born in Bruton Street, London on 2 March 1792. He was the son of James Carpenter, a bookseller in Old Bond Street. In 1817 Carpenter married Margaret Sarah Geddes who was a noted...
, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum and on his death in 1866, Queen Victoria conferred on her a pension of £100 p.a. This award was partly based on her husband's service, but also in recognition of her own artistic merits.
William and Margaret's children included two noted painters, another William
William Carpenter (painter)
William Carpenter was a watercolour artist. He travelled for six or seven years in the 1850s painting scenes of India, its people and its life. The Victoria and Albert Museum bought over 280 of his paintings...
and Percy Carpenter
Percy Carpenter
Percy Carpenter , son of artists William Hookham Carpenter and Margaret Sarah Carpenter, was a painter active in the mid 19th Century.-Biography:...
who both travelled.
She is also the maternal aunt of Wilkie Collins
Wilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...
, 19th-century writer; and sister-in-law to Wilkie's father, painter William Collins (The King of Inventors. Catherine Peters).
Her portraits follow in the tradition of Lawrence, but Wood found them to be more fanciful and feminine character, particularly in her portraits of children.
She died in London, on 13 November 1872, in her 80th year.