Lot Essay
Clara Maria Pope's first marriage was to the artist Francis Wheatley, R.A. (1747-1801) and under his instruction she became an artist, exhibiting at the Royal Academy from 1796. In 1807 she married the actor and miniaturist, Alexander Pope II (1763-1835).
Several of the plates for Beauties of Flora, 1806-20, by Samuel Curtis (1779-1860) were engraved after paintings by Clara Pope and she also illustrated Curtis's Monograph on the Genus Camellia, 1819.
The earliest European illustrations of chrysanthemum were in 1789.
It is still relatively unusual to find illustrations in the 1820s.
Several of the plates for Beauties of Flora, 1806-20, by Samuel Curtis (1779-1860) were engraved after paintings by Clara Pope and she also illustrated Curtis's Monograph on the Genus Camellia, 1819.
The earliest European illustrations of chrysanthemum were in 1789.
It is still relatively unusual to find illustrations in the 1820s.