HENRY EDRIDGE (1769—1821) was another miniature painter, who owed some of his success to careful following of Reynolds. He painted miniatures on ivory, and for a time on paper, using the lead pencil over Indian ink washes. He was also highly successful as a landscape painter in water colours.
ANDREW ROBERTSON (1777—1845), the son of a cabinet-maker at Aberdeen, came to London on foot in 1801, and gained the patronage of Benjamin West, the President, whose portrait he painted. Robertson became, in due course, a very successful miniature painter, and practised his art for more than thirty years. His likenesses are truthful, but do not stand in the first rank of miniature-painting.
ALFRED EDWARD CHALON (1781—1860), born in Geneva, and of French extraction, holds a high place in the history of English art as a portrait painter in water colours; his miniatures on ivory are full of life, vigour, and originality. He was elected R.A. in 1816. As a painter in oils, Alfred Chalon achieved a high degree of success. Hunt the Slipper, Samson and Delilah (exhibited for the second time at the International Exhibition in 1862), and Sophia Western deserve notice among his oil paintings. Chalon could not only paint with originality, but could catch the manner of the old masters with such accuracy, that some of his works were attributed even by the skilful to Rubens, Watteau, and others. His elder brother, JOHN JAMES CHALON (1778—1854), obtained celebrity as a landscape painter.
WILLIAM ESSEX (1784—1869) painted in enamel, and exhibited a portrait of the Empress Josephine, after Isabey, at the Royal Academy in 1824. In 1839 he was appointed painter in enamels to the Queen, and in 1841 to the Prince Consort. He was one of the last of the painters in enamel.
WILLIAM DERBY (1786—1847) was celebrated for his careful copies in miniature of celebrated portraits. He was largely employed on Lodge's "Portraits of Illustrious Persons."
With SIR WILLIAM CHARLES ROSS (1794—1860) ends the school of deceased miniature painters. Ross was an artist even in the nursery. He became an assistant to Andrew Robertson, and although his forte was miniature-painting, he longed for the higher flight of historic art. His Judgment of Brutus, Christ casting out Devils (exhibited in 1825), and The Angel Raphael discoursing with Adam and Eve (to which an additional premium of £100 was awarded at the Cartoon Exhibition in 1843), are specimens of his power in this branch of art, at different periods. It is as a miniature painter that he will live in the history of art. He was elected to the full rank of R.A. in 1839, and was knighted in the same year. The Court smiled upon him. He painted miniatures of the Queen and Royal Family, the Saxe-Gotha Family, and the King and Queen of Portugal. The late Emperor of the French, when Prince Louis Napoleon, was among his numerous sitters.
