Rolinda Sharples: Rediscovering a Pioneering Female Artist of Regency Britain

Key facts

• Rolinda Sharples was born in 1793 in either Bristol or Bath to artists James and Ellen Sharples.
• In 1794, the Sharples family was captured by a French privateer and imprisoned in Brest, France for seven months.
• Rolinda's mother Ellen taught her drawing and pastels; by age 13, Rolinda made miniature portraits and copies of her father's work.
• After James died in 1811, Rolinda and Ellen moved permanently to Bristol.
• In 1815, Rolinda painted 'The Artist and Her Mother', a double portrait with her mother.
• Her painting 'The Cloak-Room, Clifton Assembly Rooms' (1818) has been used on editions of Jane Austen novels.
• In 1827, Rolinda became an honorary member of the Society of British Artists and exhibited at the Royal Academy.
• Her work 'The Trial of Colonel Brereton' (1834) depicted the court-martial after the Bristol Reform Riots.
• Rolinda died in 1838 of breast cancer.
• Ellen Sharples helped establish the Bristol Academy for the Promotion of Fine Arts (now RWA) with funding from Prince Albert and Isambard Kingdom Brunel.