Samuel Dixon (died 1769) was an Irish artist, known for his water colour paintings and his depictions of flowers and birds in basso-relievo (embossed papier-mâché).[1]

Samuel Dixon
Died(1769-01-27)27 January 1769
London
CitizenshipKingdom of Great Britain
Occupation(s)Artist, printer
Known forBasso-relievo prints
embossed picture depicting a canary perched on a bough
A print from a set of twelve

Dixon's father was Thomas Dixon, a hosier, of Cork Hill.[1] His brother John Dixon, was a mezzotint engraver.[1]

In 1748, he was listed as a "picture dealer and painter" in Capel Street, Dublin, Ireland.[1]

Dixon produced sets of twelve hand-coloured basso-relievo prints. He advertised the first, featuring floral arrangements, in Faulkner's Dublin Journal on 26 April 1748. The next year he followed these with a set of designs copied from volumes 1–4 of George Edward's Natural History of Uncommon Birds (1743–1751).[2]

He employed a number of apprentices or pupils to hand-colour his prints, among them was Gustavus Hamilton, Daniel O'Keeffe and James Reilly.[3]

In later life he opened a shop in London and exhibited his works there, returning to Dublin in 1768.[1] He returned to London, and died there on 27 January 1769.[1]

Further reading

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  • Longfield, A. (October–December 1975). "Samuel Dixon's Embossed Pictures of Flowers and Birds". Irish Georgian Society Bulletin.
  • "More About Samuel Dixon and His Imitators". Quarterly Bulletin of the Irish Society. January–June 1980.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Samuel Dixon, Water-Colour Painter". A Dictionary of Irish Artists. 1913. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  2. ^ "A George III Irish embossed Bird Picture by Samuel Dixon". Bonhams. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  3. ^ A Dictionary of Irish Artists. Walter G. Strickland. 1913. http://www.libraryireland.com/irishartists/index.php