Ames, Mrs
Gender:
Female
Date and place of birth:
Unknown
Date and place of death:
Unknown
Worked:
(fl) 1785
Known places of work:
Birmingham
Known techniques:
Painted on paper
Known materials:
Paper
Frames:
Unknown
Signature:
Not recorded
Introduction:
Information regarding Mrs. Ames comes from an advertisement for silhouette portraits published in Anis’ Birmingham Gazette, dated 19 September 1785. Little else is known and she was conflated with a Miss Ames in Jackson’s Dictionary. In contrast, Foskett and McKechnie have separate entries both for Miss and for Mrs. Ames. We can only really be sure of this one date in respect to either her working life or biographical details.
From The Gazette advertisement, which quotes a lesser charge for other likenesses than for those painted on glass, it is presumed that Mrs. Ames also painted on card or paper.
Maynes reports that she was a painter of bust-length profiles and that her work was “...sound, without being exceptional.”
Additional research about Mrs Ames:
Source: McKechnie (Author of, British Silhouette Artists and their Work 1760-1860)
Ames, Mrs (McKechnie Section 2)Ames, Mrs (McKechnie Section 3)
Source: Joll (Hon. Secretary of the Silhouette Collectors Club and Editor of the Club's newsletter)
Ames, Mrs (SCC Newsletter January 2009)