Talk:Maria Cosway

Fair use rationale for Image:Jeffersoninparis.jpg
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BetacommandBot (talk) 17:53, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

F. Bartolozzi Engraving
If anyone would be interested in a photo, I inherited a hand-colored engraving of Maria Cosway's "The Hours" by F. Bartolozzi.

The piece is titled "The Hours" and says "No. 1 of the British Poets", and also "Vide Gray's Ode to Spring". On the lefthand side under the edge of the engraving it says "Maria Cosway pinx" (I believe that means it is copied from a painting by Cosway) and under the righthand side "F. Bartolozzi R.A. & Engraver to his Majesty Sculp". Across the bottom it says "London Publish'd April 4 1788 by Thos Macklin, No. 30 Fleet Street".

In approximately 2000, I took it to a local frame shop, where it was rescued from its prior 1970s mounting with acidic paper and tape (egad), fortunately with no damage to the piece. It is now hanging reframed in acid-free environment behind UV-protective glass. I don't know how well it will photograph behind the glass, but I could try.

If I would do this, would we make the reference to "The Hours" a link, and put it on its own page? Or would it be best on the Maria Cosway page? I was thinking that I could put up some photos of the details if it were on a separate page.

If I take a photo from my private collection, then what kind of copyright info would I put with it? I don't understand the copyright info very well I guess. (A photo of a Tiffany sterling pitcher from my private collection that I put up in Wiki was apparently deleted and moved to the Wikipedia Commons area. ??)

Mrs rockefeller (talk) 20:52, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Jefferson in paris ver1.jpg
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This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Media copyright questions. --00:00, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

Note from the article's creator
I created this article way back in 2007 or 2008. It was a decent article back then, but it's wonderful now, and reading through it just now - I want to say thanks to the editors that have added to it and worked on it to bring it this far. - Gloriamarie (talk) 00:30, 3 February 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070929150711/http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/gothicnightmares/cast/others.htm to http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/gothicnightmares/cast/others.htm#mcosway
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070929121028/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1995/2/1995_2_108.shtml to http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1995/2/1995_2_108.shtml

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External links modified
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 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070929150612/http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/gothicnightmares/rooms/room4.htm to http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/gothicnightmares/rooms/room4.htm

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She was a composer too
This article covers Maria Cosway's career as a painter well but there is nothing about her music. Here is a quotation which brought her to mind: "For a brief, glorious moment harpsichords and pianos coexisted in the drawing rooms of Europe and the two instruments together could produce magic. Sparkling music by Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach, Henri-Joseph Rigel, Anne-Louise Brillon de Jouy and Maria Cosway." Here is a partial list of her music: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/maria-cosway-mn0002346675/compositions Humphrey Tribble (talk) 22:07, 18 July 2022 (UTC)

Undue emphasis on Thomas Jefferson
This article about painter, musician, and educator Maria Cosway has a lengthy section about a relationship with Thomas Jefferson. While Jefferson might have fallen in love with her, the six week relationship was apparently platonic on her part.

None of the following sources mention the relationship. 1. the entry for Maria Cosway in the Dictionary of National Biography 2. the entry for her husband Richard Cosway in the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica (sadly there is no entry for Maria Cosway herself) 3. the entry for Thomas Jefferson in the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica nor 4. the entry for Maria Cosway in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia

The Wikipedia article about Thomas Jefferson has only one short paragraph about him falling in love with Cosway over six weeks, after which they stayed in correspondence, as did many people in that era, until his death.

Since this article is about Maria Cosway, not Thomas Jefferson, I conclude that the section is undue emphasis and does not belong here. Since it is a large chunk of the article, I am posting my assessment for one-week comment rather than deleting it immediately. Humphrey Tribble (talk) 23:52, 18 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Deleting it? Maybe or maybe not a little trim (the writing seems tight and interesting) although the size of a section in an encyclopedia doesn't denote importance, just that there is more information available as it is one of the things Cosway is notable for. Of course her art is first and foremost, and that doesn't seem lessened by an encyclopedic record of her lifelong friend and their influences on each others lives. Randy Kryn (talk) 00:57, 19 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Agree with Randy. A relationship with TJ is notable. YoPienso (talk) 18:05, 19 July 2022 (UTC)


 * Hello and

I think Maria Cosway should be recognized mainly for her achievements in art, music, and education, not because of Jefferson. I am concerned that the "Relationship with Thomas Jefferson" section is far larger in the Cosway article it is in the Jefferson article.

Of course the Jefferson connection, whatever its nature, is notable because of his status as a politician. So it should be mentioned. However, John Adams is also notable for his correspondence with Jefferson, but the article about him doesn't have a section entitled "Relationship with Thomas Jefferson". Jefferson corresponded with Abigail Adams, too, yet the article about her doesn't have a section entitled "Relationship with Thomas Jefferson".

Since the relationship isn't mentioned in the biographies I cited earlier, it appears it is primarily of interest to Jefferson aficionados. Therefore, theis extensive detail belongs in the article about Jefferson. I propose to move the big section about the relationship from the Cosway article to the Jefferson article. I would replace that section in the Cosway article with the following summary.

In 1786, Maria Cosway and her husband John met the American minister to France, Thomas Jefferson. Cosway and Jefferson shared an interest in art and architecture, and they attended exhibits together. Over six weeks,[9] Jefferson developed a romantic attachment to Cosway. After the Cosways returned to London at the conclusion of his commission, Jefferson sent a very long love letter to her. But the feelings were not returned and eventually he stopped writing. She wrote to him in 1820 shortly before the death of her husband and they continued a friendly correspondence until his death.

It would also have a link to the appropriate section in the Jefferson article.

Will you support this edit? Humphrey Tribble (talk) 06:25, 3 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Hi, thanks for the ping. Seems the way to focus more on her art and the other aspects of her life rather than on the Jefferson connection is to work to enlarge the page so that all of the sections are of a size to your liking. The Jefferson section seems encyclopedic and important to both their lives, and comparing sizes of cited information should focus on the reliability of the sources and not on what gets more acreage. Randy Kryn (talk) 12:07, 3 August 2022 (UTC)