Richard Dighton
Encyclopedia
Richard Dighton was an English artist in the Regency period, best known for his many satirical profile portraits of contemporary London celebrities and characters.
He was the son and apprentice of another noted caricaturist, Robert Dighton
(1752–1814), and brother of the battle-scene painter Denis Dighton
and of Robert Dighton junior. The works of Robert and Richard Dighton are regarded as predecessors of the Vanity Fair style of the late nineteenth century.
His series of City and West End
portraits was started in 1817, and he published more than one hundred etchings during the next decade. From 1828 on he produced no further etchings and settled and worked in Cheltenham
and Worcester
where he spent the next twenty years, thereafter returning to London. He concentrated firstly on watercolour portraits and after 1835 on lithographic portraits.
Richard Dighton died of an 'enlarged prostate and Bright's disease
' at 3 Elm Grove, Hammersmith
on 13 April 1880 aged 84. His sons Richard junior and Joshua were also portraitists.
He was the son and apprentice of another noted caricaturist, Robert Dighton
Robert Dighton
Robert Dighton was born c.1752 in London and died there in 1814. An English portrait painter, print maker and caricaturist, he was the founder of a dynasty of artists who followed in his footsteps.-Life and work:...
(1752–1814), and brother of the battle-scene painter Denis Dighton
Denis Dighton
Denis Dighton was an English painter, best known for his military portraits and battle scenes.-Life:Denis Dighton was the son of the caricaturist Robert Dighton. He studied at the Royal Academy. At the age of seventeen he received a commission in the army, through the influence of the Prince of...
and of Robert Dighton junior. The works of Robert and Richard Dighton are regarded as predecessors of the Vanity Fair style of the late nineteenth century.
His series of City and West End
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
portraits was started in 1817, and he published more than one hundred etchings during the next decade. From 1828 on he produced no further etchings and settled and worked in Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
and Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
where he spent the next twenty years, thereafter returning to London. He concentrated firstly on watercolour portraits and after 1835 on lithographic portraits.
Richard Dighton died of an 'enlarged prostate and Bright's disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
' at 3 Elm Grove, Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
on 13 April 1880 aged 84. His sons Richard junior and Joshua were also portraitists.