Maria A. Chalon

Maria Ann Chalon (2 September 1797 – 8 April 1877) was a British painter of miniatures. She was Portrait Paintress to his Royal Highness, the Duke of York, and is considered one of the most talented and successful female British miniaturists of the early nineteenth century.

Life Maria Ann Chalon was born on 2 September 1797 in London, England. She was the second child of Henry Barnard Chalon, painter, and Sarah Ward. Her grandfather, Jan Chalon, was an artist, collector and engraver and her great-aunt, Christina Chalon, was a painter and draughtswoman.

In 1840 she married Henry Moseley, a painter and engraver. She lived in London for much of her life but spent some time at Hardwicke Court in Gloucestershire. who was the daughter of her sister, Frederica. She then turned her talents to miniature-painting as a profession. and was appointed ‘Portrait Paintress to his Royal Highness’ Her work was sometimes said to resemble William Charles Ross.

She exhibited using the name Maria A. Chalon, or Miss M. A. Chalon, during the years 1819 – 1840 and then using Mrs. Henry Moseley, or Mrs. H. Moseley, during 1841 – 1866 . Although some of her works were in oils, she worked mostly in watercolours. and also exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists (1834), the Suffolk Street Gallery, the British Institution (1863), and the Society of Women Artists (1857–1862).

Awards

The Silver Palette for St James the Elder, 1813