about 1760–1851Anne Mee
Born into an artistic family, Anne Mee likely received her early training from her father, John Foldstone, before later studying with the fashionable portrait painter George Romney. After her father’s death in 1784, Mee turned to miniature painting as a means of supporting her family and quickly established a reputation among patrons and artists. The poet William Hayley, for example, described her as a ‘young lady, a prodigy in the art of painting in miniature’, noting her ability to sustain her family through her work.
Working in the standard medium of watercolour on ivory, Mee became one of the most successful female miniature painters of her time. She received commissions from aristocratic and royal patrons, including Queen Charlotte. She also exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy of Arts between 1804 and 1837.
Her marriage to Joseph Mee did not end her career; however, the diarist Joseph Farington recorded that her husband only permitted her to paint ‘ladies who could not have a gentleman with them’. Despite such social restrictions, Mee achieved considerable professional success and reportedly charged fees higher than those of some male contemporaries, including Richard Cosway.