Jameson, Mrs. Anna Brownell Murphy

ja'me-son, Mrs. Anna Brownell Murphy (1794-1860), a British author and art critic. She was born at Dublin, the eldest daughter of an Irish miniature painter. While a young woman she filled the position of governess in several families, and in 1825 married Robert Jameson, from whom she soon separated. Her first publication was Diary of an Ennuyee which appeared in 1826. Loves of the Poets, Memoirs of Female Sovereigns, and Characteristics of Shakespeare's Women soon followed. These books were favorably received, but Mrs. Jameson is known best for her art criticisms. Among her writings in this line may be mentioned Handbook to the Public Picture Galleries of Art, published in 1842; Memoirs of the Early Italian Painters, and Sacred and Legendary Art. These works have done much toward the refinement of public taste, since they are of such style as to attract the ordinary reader and are at the same time true expositions of the works of the old masters.