Dixon, John

Introduction:

John Dixon had an incredibly long career, around twenty nine years from the early to mid-19th century. He was a skilled miniaturist and profilist who offered a wide range of styles. His profiles of women are well known for being exceptionally detailed and are frequently used in studies of contemporary dress and fashion.

Little biographical detail is known about John Dixon. He worked and lived in Bath for almost all of his life, moving around the area and working from several different addresses, perhaps painting profiles part-time. McKechnie has concluded that John Dixon taught William Hamlet the Younger. He used papier-mache to frame his work with detail added through varying floral motifs. There is only one John Dixon trade label known, a surprising fact given the length of his career and his prolific output.

John Dixon offered a wide range of styles for his sitters, who could chose to have a silhouette in shaded black, bronzed, or coloured paint. He was equally accomplished in all these styles. There are certain aspects which differentiate Dixon’s work. When painting the bust line, especially on men, he used a unique bust line termination highlighted by a single line of white paint above. Dixon always signed his work underneath this unusual bust-line. His profiles of women were also incredibly detailed, particularly in their portrayal of contemporary dress. He remains popular today with both collectors and scholars.

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