Emma
Engraver John Raphael Smith British
After Richard Cosway British
Publisher Rudolph Ackermann, London British
Not on view
A shepherdess, who may be an idealized portrait of Maria Cosway, reads from a large book as her flock drinks from a fountain. Inspired by Mathew Prior's poem "Henry and Emma" (1709), Richard Cosway represented the title characters in paired images, and John Raphael Smith first engraved and published the prints in 1785 as part of a set including "Octavia" and "Ariadne" designed by John Hoppner. This example of "Emma" was reissued in 1802 by Ackermann.
