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Robert Dighton
Robert Dighton

Robert Dighton

English, 1751-1814
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Robert Dighton was born c.1752 in London and died there in 1814. An English portrait painter, printmaker and caricaturist, he was the founder of a dynasty of artists who followed in his footsteps.

Robert Dighton was the son of the London printseller John Dighton .. In the 1770s he began acting and singing in plays at the Haymarket Theatre, Covent Garden and Sadler’s Wells while at the same time training and exhibiting at the Royal Academy - he entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1722. He also exhibited at the Free Society of Artists between 1769–73. The first prints he designed were of actors for John Bell's edition of Shakespeare (1775–76).

As an artist, he was first offered consistent employment by the publisher Carington Bowles (fl.1752–93). This was the heyday of the so-called 'droll' mezzotint and Robert's output of designs, executed in watercolour and then engraved, was an integral part of his stock. Carington Bowles was among of the most active mapsellers of his day in London, which will explain Dighton’s caricature maps in his “Geography Bewitched” series, including Ireland, England and Wales and Scotland.

Much of Dighton's early work was issued anonymously, but by the early 1790s it became increasingly well known and he began etching and publishing under his own name. In awkward poses and with ruddy faces, Dighton's satirical caricatures included lawyers, military officers, actors and actresses who were seen about town, as well as down-at-heel types. In 1795 he brought out a Book of Heads and thenceforth devoted himself chiefly to caricature. His work is noted as being less savage than that of his contemporaries, James Gilray and George Cruickshank.

By the start of the century, his success allowed him to open a shop in Charing Cross, where he sold his own prints and those of others until it emerged in 1806 that part of his stock was stolen from the British Museum. An art dealer by the name of Samuel Woodburn had purchased a print, an impression of Rembrandt's Coach Landscape, from Dighton and, supposing it might be a copy, took the print to the British Museum to compare it with the impression there. When it was discovered that their impression was missing, Dighton confessed that he had befriended a museum official by drawing portraits of him and his daughter during his visits and used this relationship to remove prints from the museum hidden in his portfolio.

Because of his co-operation, Dighton escaped prosecution but was forced to lie low in Oxford until the scandal died down. While there he did an amusing series of portraits of academic types and country gentlemen, as well as in Bath and Cambridge. Returning to London in 1810, he reopened his studio, where he worked with his sons until his death in 1814

53 items

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In Place

In Place

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
The Contrast

The Contrast

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
The Frenchman In Distress

The Frenchman In Distress

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
The London Dentist

The London Dentist

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
The Return From The Masquerade – A Morning Scene

The Return From The Masquerade – A Morning Scene

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
A Lesson Westward, or, A Morning Visit to Betsy Cole

A Lesson Westward, or, A Morning Visit to Betsy Cole (1782)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
Hamlet in Scotland

Hamlet in Scotland (1794)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
Lord Dashalong Bent on Driving

Lord Dashalong Bent on Driving (1801)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
Bachelor’s Hall

Bachelor’s Hall

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
Pheasant Shooting

Pheasant Shooting (before 1801)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
Out Of Place

Out Of Place

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
Snipe Shooting

Snipe Shooting (ca. 1790)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
The King and Noblemen Before the Stag is Turn’d Out

The King and Noblemen Before the Stag is Turn’d Out

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
William Molyneaux, second Earl of Sefton: on a Box Seat, Holding Reins and Whip

William Molyneaux, second Earl of Sefton: on a Box Seat, Holding Reins and Whip (between 1801 and 1802)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Figurative
A gentle ride from Exeter Change to Pimlico.

A gentle ride from Exeter Change to Pimlico. (1812)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
A gloomy Day, taken on the Steyne at Brighton.

A gloomy Day, taken on the Steyne at Brighton. (1801)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
A journeyman parson going on duty.

A journeyman parson going on duty. (1782)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
A lawyer & his client.

A lawyer & his client. (1812)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
A noble duke. Taken on the Steyne at Brighton.

A noble duke. Taken on the Steyne at Brighton. (1801)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
A noble student of Oxford

A noble student of Oxford (1808)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
A pair of spectacles easily seen thro’.

A pair of spectacles easily seen thro’. (1795)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
A view from Baxter’s livery stables, Cambridge

A view from Baxter’s livery stables, Cambridge (1810)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
A view from St. Aldates Oxford.

A view from St. Aldates Oxford. (1808)

Robert Dighton (English, 1751-1814)
Illustration
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