λ George Chinnery (1774-1852) Portrait miniature of Maria Graham

λ George Chinnery (1774-1852)

Portrait miniature of Maria Graham, half length, wearing a green jacket

Oval, in a gold frame

86 x 68mm

Painted c.1795

This portrait of Maria Graham would have been painted by George Chinnery in Bombay. She married her first husband, Captain Robert Graham, RN in Bombay and travelled with him to Chile in 1821. However he died of fever en route and shunning the British community Graham lived among the Chilean people. She published her 'Journal of a residence in Chile' in 1822 and other books about her stay earning the gratitude of Chileans for her invaluable social document. Her second husband was the painter Augustus Wall Calcott (1779-1844) whom she married in 1827. With her literary background and his wide circle of artistic connections they became a key part of the cultural scene in London.