James Nixon ARA (c. 1741–1812) was an English miniature painter.
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Life
editBaptised on 17 July 1741 in Lincoln, Nixon studied at the Royal Academy Schools from March 1769.[1] He first exhibited with the Society of Artists (1765–1771), and from 1772 to 1805 was an annual contributor to the Royal Academy.[2]
Nixon was a leading miniaturist of his time, and held the appointments of limner to the Prince of Wales and miniature-painter to the Duchess of York; in 1778 he was elected Associate of the Royal Academy. He resided in London for most of his professional career, but spent periods in Edinburgh and Newcastle.[1]
Nixon married Frances Elizabeth Carrington (1752–1823), daughter of the Reverend James Carrington, chancellor of the diocese of Exeter, in Devon on 30 October 1777.[1] Around 1780 they had a son, James, and may have had other children. Nixon died in Tiverton on 9 May 1812, aged 71.[2] He was financially unsuccessful.[1]
Works
editNixon painted Elizabeth Farren and other theatrical celebrities, as well as figures of Shakespearean characters. He sent some portraits in oil to the Royal Academy, and in 1786 a series of ten designs illustrating Tristram Shandy. His portraits of Dr. Francis Willis, the Duchess of Devonshire, Elizabeth Hartley, and the sisters Jenny and Nelly Bennet were engraved.[2]
Notes
edit
- ^ a b c d "Nixon, James". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20208. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b c Lee, Sidney, ed. (1895). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 41. London: Smith, Elder & Co.