Artwork
H Beard Print Collection
H Beard Print Collection is a print by the Romanticist artist Richard Dighton. It dates from 1821 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This hand‑coloured etching, produced in 1821, depicts Miss Wilson in the role of Mandane from the stage production of Artaxerxes.
About this work
This is a print from 1821. It shows a person called Miss Wilson as a character named Mandane from a play called Artaxerxes. The artist used etching, then colored it by hand.
The print was published by T. Maclean in Haymarket. It sits in the Victoria and Albert Museum today.
If you like this, check out prints by Dighton, Richard.
Overview
This hand‑coloured etching, produced in 1821, depicts Miss Wilson in the role of Mandane from the stage production of Artaxerxes. The image was issued by the publisher T. Maclean of Haymarket and is now part of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s collection, having entered the museum via the Harry Beard Print Collection.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait presents Miss Wilson embodying Mandane, a character in the 18th‑century opera Artaxerxes. By portraying a contemporary actress in costume, the print serves both as a likeness of the performer and as a visual record of theatrical costume and staging conventions of the period.
Technique & Style
The work was created through the etching process, in which lines are incised into a metal plate and printed onto paper. After printing, the image was coloured manually, a common practice for enhancing detail and appeal in early‑19th‑century portrait prints.
History & Provenance
Issued by T. Maclean, a Haymarket printer active in the early 1800s, the print was catalogued among his theatrical series. It later entered the private Harry Beard Print Collection before being acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it remains on display.
Context
Artaxerxes, a popular English adaptation of Handel’s opera, enjoyed frequent revivals in London theatres. Portraits of leading performers, such as this depiction of Miss Wilson, were widely circulated as souvenirs, reflecting the public’s appetite for theatrical memorabilia during the Regency era.
Artist & collection
Artist
Richard Dighton spent his life sketching London street life on the spot, cigarette behind his ear and sketchbook in hand.
