Robert Dighton Jnr 1786-1865

For a long time the existence of Robert Dighton Jnr was not recognised; those prints which were signed 'Dighton Jnr' were thought to be early efforts by Robert's other sons, Denis or Richard. However drawings in the Royal Collection reveal that Robert was working steadily from 1800 to 1809 producing caricature watercolours of military personnel.

Though artistically it is probably fair to say that Robert was the least able of the family, his etchings are particularly striking. Somewhat naive, his confident, heavy use of the burin contrasts with the finer and more delicate technique of his father.

His artistic output appears to have ceased when he obtained a commission in the army. He served in the Peninsular war and in France between 1810 and 1814, being wounded at Bayonne. He was with the 2nd Battalion, 71st Light Infantry in Glasgow in 1816, and later with the 16th Lancers in India in 1834.

Portraits within the exhibition

Portraits catalogued on the online search the collection facility - a small percentage of the number of Dighton portraits in the Gallery's collection

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All images and text are subject to copyright protection. 20 November 2008