Mary Moser

Mary Moser
A portrait of Mary Moser by George Romney
Born	(1744-10-27)27 October 1744 London
Died	2 May 1819(1819-05-02) (aged 74)
Nationality	British
Spouse(s)	Hugh Lloyd
Patron(s)	Queen Charlotte

Mary Moser RA (27 October 1744 – 2 May 1819) was an English painter and one of the most celebrated women artists of 18th-century Britain. One of only two female founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768, Moser painted portraits but is particularly noted for her depictions of flowers.

London-born Moser was trained by her Swiss-born artist and enameller father George Michael Moser (1706–1783) and her talents were evident at an early age: she won her first Society of Arts medal at 14, and regularly exhibited flower pieces, and occasional history paintings, at the Society of Artists of Great Britain. Ten years later, however, her thirst for professional recognition led her to join with 35 other artists (including her father) in forming the Royal Academy, and, with Angelica Kauffman, she took an active role in proceedings.

In a group portrait by Johann Zoffany, The Academicians of the Royal Academy (1771–72; Royal Collection, London), members are shown gathered around a nude male model at a time when women were excluded from such training in order to protect their modesty. So that Moser and Kauffman could be included, Zoffany added them as portraits hanging on the wall.

George Romney (c. 1770) painted a portrait of Moser at work on a still life which was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery (London) in 2003.

In the 1790s, Moser received a prestigious commission, for which she was paid over £900, from Queen Charlotte to complete a floral decorative scheme for a room in Frogmore House in Windsor, Berkshire. This was to prove one of her last professional works; following marriage to a Captain Hugh Lloyd on 23 October 1793, she retired and began exhibiting as an amateur under her married name. She continued showing at the Royal Academy until 1802.