GEORGE MICHAEL MOSER, R.A. (1704—1783), the son of a sculptor at St. Gall, in Switzerland, came to England in his early days, and first gained notice as a chaser of brass-work, the favourite decoration of the furniture of that period. As an enamel painter he was justly celebrated, and employed to decorate the watch of George III. with portraits of the two elder Princes. He designed the Great Seal. Moser was a member of the St. Martin's Lane Academy, and in 1766 joined the Incorporated Society of Artists. He was a founder of the Royal Academy, and its first Keeper.
NATHANIEL HONE (1718—1784) stands next to Zincke as a miniature painter, although there is a wide gulf between them. He was self-taught, and on quitting his native Dublin, spent some time in the provinces practising as a portrait painter, and afterwards achieved great success in London. He was one of the foundation members of the Royal Academy, but brought himself into disgrace with that body by lampooning the President in a picture which he sent for exhibition.
JEREMIAH MEYER (1735—1789) is said to have been a pupil of Zincke, but this is probably an error. Passing from the St. Martin's Lane Academy, Meyer, a native of Würtemberg, became Enamel Painter to George III., and Miniature Painter to the Queen. Careful study of Reynolds is apparent in his works. He was one of the original members of the Royal Academy.
RICHARD COLLINS (1755—1831), a pupil of Meyer, held the post of Miniature Painter to George III., and his works formed important elements in the Academy exhibitions.
SAMUEL SHELLEY, though born in Whitechapel, surely an inartistic locality, and having little art education, became a fashionable miniature painter. He studied Reynolds with advantage, and treated historic incidents in miniature. He was one of the founders of the Water-Colour Society, and died in 1808.
JAMES NIXON, A.R.A. (about 1741—1812), was Limner to the Prince Regent, and a clever designer of book illustrations.
OZIAS HUMPHREY (1742—1810) commenced miniature-painting at Bath, after being a pupil in the Academy in St. Martin's Lane. He returned to London at the invitation of Reynolds. A miniature exhibited by him in 1766 attracted universal notice, and gained for him patronage from the King. Compelled by ill health to go abroad in 1772, Humphrey studied Italian art, and came back in five years fired with a desire to attempt historical painting. Here he failed, and neither by historic subjects nor portraits in oil could he gain the success attending his miniatures. Disappointed, he went to India in 1785, and painted illustrious natives of that country. Three years later Humphrey was re-established as a miniature painter in London, where he was elected a Royal Academician in 1791. Six years later his eyesight entirely failed. It is said of his miniatures that they are the nearest to the pictures of Reynolds. Humphrey was also successful in crayons.
GEORGE ENGLEHEART, who exhibited miniature portraits at the Royal Academy as early as 1773, was, in 1790, appointed Miniature Painter to the King. He painted on both enamel and ivory. He exhibited until 1812.
RICHARD COSWAY (1740—1821) was famous for skill in miniature-painting, in which no one of his day could approach him, and for vanity, extravagance, and eccentricity. A specialité of his was the composition of small whole-lengths, the bodies of which were executed in pencil, the faces in colour. No beauty of the day was happy unless her charms had been delineated by Cosway; the fair companions of the Prince Regent were among his warmest patrons, and the Prince was a frequent visitor to the artist. Cosway's wife, Maria, was a clever miniature painter, and worked for Boydell's Shakespeare and Macklin's "Poets." Of the scandals concerning her and her husband we need not speak. In his latter years Cosway professed to believe in Swedenborg, and in animal magnetism, pretended to be conversing with people abroad, claimed to have the power of raising the dead, and declared that the Virgin Mary frequently sat to him for her portrait. He was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1770, and full member in 1771.
HENRY BONE (1755—1834) commenced life as an apprentice to a porcelain manufacturer at Plymouth, where he painted flowers and landscapes on china, and secured success as an enameller. Passing from the manufactory, Bone began work in London by enamelling small trinkets. He first came into general notice in 1781, by means of a portrait of his own wife. Bone's success was rapid. He was made an Academician in 1811, and was Enamel Painter to George III., George IV., and William IV. His most famous works were miniatures after Reynolds, Titian, Murillo and Raphael. Remarkable also are his portraits of the Russell family from Henry VII.'s reign, the famous royalists of the civil war, and eighty-five likenesses of Elizabethan worthies.