Artwork
H Beard Print Collection
H Beard Print Collection is a print by the Romanticist artist Richard Cosway. It dates from 1 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The work is a stipple print dating from 1791, depicting a seated woman identified as Mrs.
About this work
It let artists copy paintings or prints with lots of detail but no harsh lines.
This is a portrait print from 1791. It shows Mrs. Tickell, made with tiny dots of ink called stippling. The artist used this method to create soft shadows and smooth tones.
Stippling was popular in the late 1700s. It let artists copy paintings or prints with lots of detail but no harsh lines. This one was published in London by J. Conde.
Look next at prints by Richard Cosway at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
The work is a stipple print dating from 1791, depicting a seated woman identified as Mrs. Tickell. Executed with countless tiny ink dots, the image achieves a delicate gradation of light and shade. The print was issued in London by the publisher J. Conde on 1 December 1791 and now belongs to the Harry Beard collection.
Technique & Style
Stippling, the method employed here, involves applying innumerable fine dots to build tonal variation. By avoiding bold outlines, the technique produces a soft, almost painterly surface that can render subtle facial features and fabric textures. In the late eighteenth century, stipple engraving was favored for reproducing paintings and creating highly detailed, yet gentle, portraiture.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait presents Mrs. Tickell, a woman of the period whose identity is recorded only by name. The composition emphasizes her genteel bearing and refined attire, reflecting contemporary ideals of femininity and social standing. The subdued tonal range underscores a sense of calm dignity rather than overt narrative.
History & Provenance
First released by the London firm J. Conde on 1 December 1791, the print entered the market as part of the era’s flourishing portrait print trade. It later became part of the Harry Beard collection, a private assemblage of eighteenth‑century prints, where it remains catalogued as an example of stipple portraiture.
Artist & collection
Artist
Richard Cosway (5 November 1742 – 4 July 1821) was a leading English portrait painter of the Georgian and Regency era, noted for his miniatures.
