Page:Dictionary of Artists of the English School (1878).djvu/320

 MOR

MOS

Portrait Gallery. He lived in the neigh- bourhood of Go vent Garden, made acquaint- ance with the wits of the day, was fond of company and sports, and a great cricketer, a fascinating and dangerous companion, he became extravagant and dissipated. His strong frame and handsome person were shattered by his excesses, and his progress in art no longer justified the early expecta- tions entertained of him. But in 1775 he married, and was happily able to abandon his vicious habits. Quitting the tempta- tions of his London hie, he went to reside at Aylesbury .and while there painted 4 The Progress of ¥106* and *The Progress of Virtue/ and a few portraits ; also a ceiling at Brocket Hall, for Lord Melbourne.

With restored health and vigour his en- thusiasm for his art returned. He exhibited at the Academy for the first time in 1778, contributing a small whole-length family group, a subject from Spenser, and some landscapes, and was elected an associate of the Academy in the November of that year. He returned to London in the same month, and resided in Norfolk Street, Strand. Here, after an illness of only 12 days, he died of fever, February 4, 1779, in his 38th year. He was buried at High Wycombe, where his picture of 'St. Paul, which gained the Society of Arts' premium, is the altar-piece of the parish church. Eight works by him were exhibited, as, it is said, he intended, at the Academy in 1779 — they comprised ' The Battle of Agincourt,' ' Vortigern and Rowena,' a small landscape, and some washed drawings.

Mortimer possessed an unbridled imagin- ation. He loved to paint the grotesque and horrible — banditti and monsters. His attempts at character from Shakespeare, though praised at the time, are extravagant and unreal. He was not successful as a colourist. He devoted his time to trifles, and is better known by his drawings than his pictures ; they possess much spirit and are good in composition. He etched many of his own designs, of which 11 large plates were published in 1768 and nine in 1778, but many more were finely etched by Blyth. Val. Green mezzo-tinted a portrait of him by himself. Ryland engraved his ' Battle of Agincourt.' He designed the * Elevation of the Brazen Serpent' for the great window at Salisbury Cathedral, and made the car- toons for the stained glass at Brasenose College, Oxford. He designed also for Bell's ' Theatre/ Bell's ' Poets/ and other publications.

MORTON, Andrew, portrait painter. Born at Newcastle-on-Tyne, July 25, 1802. He was a student in the schools of the Royal Academy, gained a silver medal in the fife school in 1821, and the same year exhibited a portrait, his first contribution. From that time he was a constant exhibitor of por-

fyptrrt*"***^ J&* 4 -/hcrn^Ze**

traits, with occasionally a portrait-group. He was of some name in his art, which did not extend beyond portraiture, and had many sitters of distinction. He was assisted by the Fitz-Clarence family, and there is by him a good portrait of William IV. in the gallery of Greenwich Hospital He died August 1, 1846.

MOSER, George Michael, R.A., ena- meller ana modeller. Was born in 1704, the son of a sculptor at St Gall, and came to England at an early age. Soon attract- ing notice by his ability as a chaser, he was employed by an eminent cabinet-maker as a cnaser for the brass-work with which the furniture of that day was decorated. He also distinguished himself as a carver and enameller, and found employment in the decoration of trinkets in the manner then in vogue. He painted in enamel, for the watch of George III., the portraits of his two eldest sons. He was also an excellent medallist and designed the King's Great Seal.

He was for many years a member of the St. Martin's Lane Academy, and was elected the treasurer and manager, and was also, 1766, a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists. He was one of the most active of the founders of the Royal Academy, and became the first keeper, an office for which his knowledge of the figure made him well qualified. In 1769 and 1770 he exhibited some chasings and medals, his only contri- butions to the Academy. He had high merits as an artist, excelling not only as a chaser but as a medallist, and he painted in enamel with great beauty and taste. He died in his apartments at the Royal Academy, January 23, 1783, aged 78, and was buried at St. Paul's, Covent Garden. His large collection of works of art were sold by auction by Mr. Langford in the sameyear.

MOSER, Maby, R.A. (afterwards Mrs. Lloyd), flower painter. Was the only child of the above. She showed an early inclination to art, and gained the Society of Arts' premiums for her drawings in 1758 and the following year. She exhibited at the Spring Gardens' Rooms in 1761 and 1762, and distinguished herself by the admirable way in which, with great taste, she painted flowers, well composed, sweetly coloured, and most carefully finished. She was elected a member of the Royal Aca- demy on its foundation in 1768, and was, from its first exhibition up to 1790, a con- stant contributor, except m the years 1786 and 1787. Her works were chiefly flowers, with an occasional portrait or classic sub- ject. In 1789 she exhibited 'Atalanta and Hippomenes;' in 1790, 'Proserpine gathering Flowers ; ' in 1792, a landscape, and her name next appears in 1798 as Mary Lloyd. In that year, and in 1800 and 1802,

299