Clara Pope facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Clara Maria Pope
Clara Pope Wheatley |
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| Born |
Clara Maria Leigh
c.1767 London, United Kingdom
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| Died | 24 December 1838 London, United Kingdom
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| Nationality | British |
| Known for | Painting |
| Spouse(s) |
Francis Wheatley
(m. 1787–1801)Alexander Pope
(m. 1807) |
Clara Maria Leigh, also known as Clara Maria Pope (born around 1767, died 1838), was a talented British artist. She was known for her beautiful paintings and especially for her detailed botanical art. Botanical art means drawing or painting plants and flowers very accurately.
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About Clara Maria Pope
Clara Maria Leigh was born in London. Her father, Jared Leigh, was also an artist, though he painted as a hobby. When she was a baby, she was painted in a family portrait by the famous artist George Romney. This painting is now in a museum in Australia.
Before she became a well-known painter, Clara worked as a model for other artists. In 1786, she married a painter named Francis Wheatley. They had five children together.
Becoming an Artist
Clara started her art career by painting tiny pictures called miniatures. By 1796, her work was good enough to be shown at the Royal Academy, a very important art place in London.
Sadly, her husband Francis died in 1801. Clara had to work hard to support her children. Luckily, she was a very skilled botanical artist. Her beautiful and precise drawings of plants caught the eye of Samuel Curtis. He was a publisher who created books about plants.
Botanical Art and Famous Works
Clara Maria Pope created many amazing illustrations for Curtis's books. She drew for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, which was a popular magazine about plants. She also made full-sized drawings for his books like Monograph on the Genus Camellia (1819) and The Beauties of Flora.
A famous architect named Sir John Soane admired her work. He asked her to create a special watercolor painting called The Flowers of Shakespeare (1835). This painting shows a statue of William Shakespeare surrounded by all the different flowers mentioned in his plays.
Later Life and Teaching
In 1807, Clara married again. Her second husband was Alexander Pope, who was both an actor and a painter. Clara also became a painting teacher. Some of her students were very important people, including Princess Sophia of Gloucester and other members of the British royal family and nobility.
Clara Maria Pope's artwork is still admired today. Some of her paintings are kept in the Tate Museum in London. She passed away in London in 1838.
