Horace Hone, Miniature Painter
(b. 1756, d. 1825)
Miniature Painter
From A Dictionary of Irish Artists 1913
Horace Hone. Miniature, by Himself; in National Gallery of Ireland.
Second son of Nathaniel Hone, R.A. (q.v.), was born in Frith Street, London, in 1756. He learned his art as a miniature painter in water-colour and enamel from his father, and at the age of 16, in 1772, he began to exhibit in the Royal Academy. He was elected an Associate in 1779. On the invitation of the Countess Temple, afterwards Marchioness of Buckingham, he went to Ireland in 1782 when Lord Temple was appointed to the Vice-royalty, and soon acquired a large and fashionable practice. He settled first in Capel Street and afterwards lived for some years in Dorset Street. In his house there Francis Grose died in 1791. In 1794 he moved to 9 Nassau Street; in 1800 he was at 14 Charlemont Street, and in 1801 and 1802 at 12 Lower Mount Street. He painted many of the prominent personages of the time in Dublin, such as the Earl of Charlemont, the Countess of Lanesborough, the Duke of Leinster, Lady O'Neill, Lord Powerscourt and James Gandon the architect. In 1784 he painted a miniature of Mrs. Siddons, who had made her first appearance at Smock Alley Theatre in June, 1783; and he had the portrait engraved by Bartolozzi. He advertised the print to be published by subscription, and it was issued in 1785. In 1801 and 1802 he exhibited a number of miniatures at the Parliament House.
After the Union, finding that his practice was declining and his fashionable sitters removing to London, he left and settled in London, taking a house in Dover Street, where for several years he continued to practice at his profession with success. While in Ireland he had contributed but once to the Royal Academy, viz., in 1795 when he was appointed miniature painter to the Prince of Wales; he now began again to exhibit, and his works continued to appear regularly down to 1822, three years before his death, which took place after a short illness at his residence in Dover Street on 24th May, 1825. He was buried in St. George's Chapel Yard, Bayswater Road. Hone had one daughter, Mary Sophia Matilda, who died unmarried. He painted a small portrait of her which was engraved in Dublin by J. Mannin.
Hone painted miniatures both in enamel and water-colour. In the former he was inferior to his father, but excelled in the latter, producing works which rank high in British miniature art. He displays two distinct styles; in the first his miniatures are carefully and minutely finished, well modelled and good in colour; in the second, generally on paper, his work is coarser and his colouring, especially in the background, inharmonious and too brilliant. He usually signed his miniatures with his initials in a monogram HH, with date. He did some copies after H. D. Hamilton.
Portrait of Himself. Miniature. [National Gallery of Ireland.]
Portrait of Himself. Miniature. [Captain Hone, Celbridge.]
William Charles, 4th Earl of Albemarle. Enamel. R.A., 1809.
T. Bainbridge. Enamel. R.A., 1806.
Mrs. Barber. R.A., 1804.
R. H. Beaumont. R.A., 1809.
Gertrude, Duchess of Bedford. Miniature. Ex. South Kensington, 1865, by the Duke of Marlborough.
John C. Beresford. Enamel. R.A., 1806.
Mrs. Bernard. Enamel. R.A., 1806.
Lord Blayney. R.A., 1804.
Miss Browne (died 1783). Miniature. [Colonel Wogan-Browne.]
Miss Browne (died 1785). Miniature. [Colonel Wogan-Browne.]
Mrs. Butler. Miniature. [Francis Wellesley.]
James, 1st Earl of Charlemont. Engraved in stipple by T. Nugent, and published by him in Dublin in 1790. The same portrait was also engraved by L. Schiavonetti, 1810; by B. Smith for Cadell and Davies' "Contemporary Portraits," 1822, and by J. Heath for Barrington's "Historic Memoirs."
James, 1st Earl of Charlemont. Enamel. R.A., 1806.
James, 1st Earl of Charlemont. R.A., 1807.
James, 1st Earl of Charlemont. Enamel. R.A., 1808.
James, 1st Earl of Charlemont. Miniature, in monochrome; done for W. Mossop for a medal. Sold at Bennett's, April, 1912. [Colonel Johnston, Kilmore, Richill.]
Mrs. Coates. R.A., 1804.
Lady A. Cole. R.A., 1804.
Mary Crosthwaite, wife of Joseph Hone. Miniature. [Nathaniel Hone, St. Doulough's.]
James Currie, M.D., of Liverpool. On paper, signed and dated 1806. The figure and fur coat same as the artist's miniature of James Gandon. Engraved by J. Cromek, 1807.
William Dawson. Miniature; belonged to the late Miss Cane, of 14 Clyde Road, Dublin.
William, 6th Duke of Devonshire. Enamel. R.A., 1814.
Counsellor Dobbs. R.A., 1804.
Dr. Dunn. R.A., 1804.
Lord Edward Fitzgerald. Miniature on card, a copy of a picture by H. D. Hamilton at Carton. [National Gallery of Ireland.]
Thomas Fitzherbert, of Swinnerton. Miniature. Ex. South Kensington, 1865, by Captain Seymour Dawson Damer, M.P.
Lady Elizabeth Forster, 2nd wife of 5th Duke of Devonshire. [Mrs. Joseph, London.]
Charles J. Fox. R.A., 1810.
Charles J. Fox. R.A., 1812.
James Gandon, architect. Enamel. R.A., 1807. Engraved by H. Meyer.
James Gandon, architect. On paper, 5 by 4 ½ inches; similar to the engraving in Mulvany's "Life of Gandon." The figure and the fur-trimmed coat are the same as the artist's portrait of James Currie. [National Gallery of Ireland.]
George, Prince Regent. Enamel. R.A., 1813.
Sir Adam Gordon. R.A., 1818.
Mrs. Graham, Enamel, after a crayon portrait by H. D. Hamilton. R.A., 1808.
T. Hammersley. Enamel. R.A., 1807.
Miss Hone. R.A., 1804.
Miss Hone; ? same work. Engraved by J. Mannin, Dublin, as "Innocent Thought."
Joseph Hone; brother of Nathaniel. Miniature, 1798. [C. H. Hone, Stillorgan.]
John Hone; cousin of Nathaniel. Miniature, 1803. [C. H. Hone, Stillorgan.]
William Hone. Miniature. [Mrs. French, Lower Pembroke Street.]
Brindley Hone. [Miss Hone, the Elms, Peterfield.]
Sarah, wife of above. [Miss Hone, the Elms, Peterfield.]
Joseph Hone. Miniature. [Nathaniel Hone, St. Doulough's.]
Nathaniel Hone, Governor of the Bank of Ireland. Miniature. [Nathaniel Hone, St. Doulough's.]
Joseph Hone (d. 1852). [N. Hone, St. Doulough's.]
Nathaniel Hone (d. 1819). [Miss E. Hone, Portmarnock.]
Joseph Terry Hone. Miniature. [Rev. J. G. Hone.]
Angela Maria, wife of last. Miniature. [Rev. J. G. Hone.]
Anne Hunt, wife of William Jackson. Miniature. [Nathaniel Hone, St. Doulough's.]
Benjamin Charles Incledon, 1773. Ex. Burlington F. A. Club, 1889, by Jeffrey Whitehead.
John Kemble. Enamel, 1790; Ex. Burlington F. A. Club, 1889, by J. L. Propert.
Daniel Lambert. [Dr. Williamson.]
Elizabeth, Countess o Lanesborough. [Lord Iveagh.] A large miniature, formerly at Bellevue, Co. Wicklow. Signed and dated 1789. Sold 8th May, 1906. Apparently a copy after H. D. Hamilton.
Elizabeth, Countess of Lanesborough. [Duke of Leinster, Carton.] Small water-colour drawing, like the Bellevue miniature above, but with pillar in background.
Elizabeth, Countess of Lanesborough. Similar, but not identical with the Bellevue miniature. Engraved by F. Bartolozzi. Inscribed London, Pubd. Augt. 12th 1791 by E. M. Diemar or H. Hone in Dublin.
Mrs. Laycock. R.A., 1808.
William Robert, second Duke of Leinster. [Duke of Leinster, Carton.] Small oval water-colour drawing.
William Robert, second Duke of Leinster. Lent to the exhibition at South Kensington, 1865, by the Rev. W. Lindsay Alexander, D.D.
Emilia Olivia, second Duchess of Leinster. Lent to exhibition at South Kensington, 1865, by Rev. W. Lindsay Alexander, D.D.
Miss Lendrick. R.A., 1804.
Dr. Lindsay. R.A., 1804.
A Lady of the Locksley family. Miniature, 12 ½ by 10 ½ inches. Christie's, 3rd Feb., 1912.
Mr. Mahon. R.A., 1804.
Richard Marlay, Bishop of Waterford. Enamel after a picture by H. D.Hamilton. R.A., 1806.
Richard Marlay. On paper, 4 ½ by 3 ½ inches; after H. D. Hamilton. [National Gallery of Ireland.]
Colonel Marston, when a boy. [Victoria and Albert Museum, Salting collection.]
Rev. John Mee. Miniature. [Mrs. H. Loftie Stoney, 1904.]
Harriet, Viscountess O'Neill. Miniature, signed and dated 1789. Ex. South Kensington, 1865, by Mr. Lea.
John Pentland. Miniature. [Rev. J. P. Mahaffy, D.D.]
William Pitt. [Countess of Mayo.]
Richard, 4th Viscount Powerscourt. [Viscount Powerscourt.]
Sir Thomas Prescott. Miniature signed with monogram, H. H., on each button of the coat. [Colonel Wogan-Browne.]
Charles, 4th Duke of Rutland, K.G., Lord Lieutenant. Water-colour, painted in Dublin, "the last picture the Duke sat for."
Charles, 4th Duke of Rutland, K.G., Lord Lieutenant. Enamel, painted in London in 1805 from the foregoing portrait. [National Gallery of Ireland.]
Mary Isabella, Duchess of Rutland. [Earl of Wharncliffe.]
Mrs. C. F. Sheridan. R.A., 1808.
Mrs. Siddons. Miniature, painted in Dublin in 1784. Engraved by Bartolozzi and published by H. Hone at 108 Capel Street, Dublin, in 1785; price to subscribers, plain, black or red, five shillings; non-subscribers three half-crowns; proof, or colured, impressions, half a guinea (advt. in "Freeman's Journal," Dec., 1784, and Jan., 1785). At the time of engraving the miniature was in the possession of Mrs. Siddons, to whom the print was dedicated. It was sold at Christie's in Feb., 1885, for £42.
Mrs. Siddons. R.A., 1804.
Mrs. Siddons. Enamel, after an original picture by Horace Hone painted in 1784. R.A., 1822. Lent to Burlington F. A. Club in 1889 by Sir William Drake. Engraved in stipple by G. F. Phillips, and published in 1825 by A. Beugo, 32 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden; inscribed, From a miniature in Enamel in the Publisher s possession, taken by the late H. Hone, Esq., Miniature Painter to his Majesty, shortly after Mrs. S's Début.
A. Stanley. R.A., 1808.
Lady Stewart. Miniature. [Victoria and Albert Museum, Salting collection.]
Hannah Tighe, daughter of Wm. Tighe of Woodstock. Painted in 1800. [E. K. B. Tighe.]
Daniel Tighe, second son of Wm. Tighe of Woodstock. [Miss Tighe, Christchurch, Hants.]
Wm. F. Tighe, eldest son of Wm. Tighe of Woodstock. Painted in 1801. [E. K. B. Tighe.]
Captain Tindal. R.A., 1804.
Mr. and Mrs. Tylor. R.A., 1808.
— Tomkinson, 16th Dragoons. R.A., 1809.
Colonel Vereker. R.A., 1804; another in 1806.
Hon. Mrs. Ward. Ex. Burlington F. A. Club, 1889, by G. F. Whitehead.
Major H. Waring. R.A., 1804.
Major H. Waring. "Sketch in enamel." R.A., 1815.
Abraham Wilkinson. Miniature. [Sir Frederick Shaw, Bart., Bushy Park, Terenure.]
Mrs. Williams. R.A., 1804.
Lady Sarah Wynne. Miniature. [Miss Balfour.]
Duchess of York. Engraved by T. Burke.
Portrait of a well-known female of the city of Dublin. R.A., 1802.
Portrait of a Gentleman, on lid of a snuff-box. [Victoria and Albert Museum, Forster collection.]
"The Gentle Eliza." Ex. Dublin, 1800. Etched by the artist the same year.
A Student. Enamel. B.I., 1807.
Madonna, after Carlo Dolci. Enamel. R.A., 1810.