In 1805, 19 year old Maria Bellett Roberts left her parents’ substantial home in Somerset to travel to Calcutta with her brother. Possibly seeking adventure, but more likely seeking a husband in a country where the percentage of men to women was sometimes calculated at 40 to 1, it took Maria only a year to become the wife of Colonel Marmaduke Browne of the Royal Artillery. Mrs. Browne, a glittering hostess, often entertained George Chinnery, India’s most celebrated portraitist. Already a talented amateur artist, Mrs. Browne began taking instruction from Chinnery, quickly becoming his most accomplished student. She collaborated with Chinnery on his “Treatise” describing the theory and practice of painting. His letters to her (British Museum) spell out his methods for painting miniatures. As a result of this enviable training, Maria, who often signed her works “Mrs. Marmaduke Browne,” became one of the most popular miniaturists in Calcutta. Her account book listing her sitters was primarily a list of her friends (whom she rarely charged) — Sir Charles & Lady D’Oyly, Lord Moira and Mrs. Siddons. After giving birth to 4 children, with her health failing, in 1823 Maria Bellett Browne ended her India adventure, returning to her family in Somerset, where she died in 1828. *************************************** Jane Eliza Russell, later Lady Russell by Maria Bellett Browne, 1816. *************************************** One of a select collection of portrait miniatures by British artists working in India to be exhibited at TEFAF New York Fall, opening one month from today at the Park Avenue Armory. *************************************** @tefaf_art_fair @parkavearmory #TEFAF #TEFAF2019 #TEFAFNY #ParkAvenueArmory #PortraitMiniature #PortraitMiniatures #MiniaturePortrait #MiniaturePortraits #AngloIndianArt #BritishArtistsinIndia #HistoricArt #elleshushan #Harp #BritishMiniature #JaneElizaRussell #LadyRussell #MariaBellettBrowne https://www.instagram.com/p/B3FxwwxnwyG/?igshid=9hz5g8fvuvmn
