Portrait of The Right Reverend Edward Copleston, Lord Bishop of Llandaff, 1844

A mezzotint of the Right Reverend Edward Copleston (1776-1849), Lord Bishop of Llandaff (1827-1849), by G. Dawe, published at 14 Pall Mall East by Paul & Dominic Colmaghi & C, Jan 5th 1844. "Sold for the benefit of the Diocesan Board of Education Llandaff."

A black and white mezzotint portrait of a white middle-aged man, seated and positioned to the left, looking out of the frame. He has fine white hair and is dressed in vestments, with huge white puff sleeves with dark ribboned cuffs and a long dark chimere. In his left hand he holds a pair of white gloves, while a jewelled ring can be seen on the ring finger of his right hand. A velvet curtain framed in an archway behind him gives way to a landscape on the left, where a cathedral can be seen in the distance. Text directly below the image reads ‘Published at 14, PALL MALL EAST, by Paul & Dominic Colnaghi & Co. Jan.y 5th 1844. Publishers to Her Majesty,’ followed by italic scroll: ‘The Right Reverend Edward Coplestone, Lord Bishop of Llandaff, Aged 62, Sold for the benefit of the Diocesan Board of Education Llandaff’. Small text to the right reads: ‘Printed by G. Dawe.’

Edward Copleston (1776-1849) was born in Offwell, near Honiton, Devon, into a clerical dynasty, with the Copleston family serving as Rectors of that parish for over one hundred and eighty years. At the age of fifteen, he gained a scholarship to study at Oxford, keeping diaries during this time, one entry of which describes being “robbed by two mounted highwaymen, on my return to Oxford…between Uxbridge and Beaconsfield.” (see The Life and Times of Bishop Edward Copleston.) In 1800 he became a Vicar, and later Oxford Professor of Poetry. In 1826, he was appointed Dean of Chester, and the following year was consecrated Bishop of Llandaff in Wales, which he described as, “an offer which, notwithstanding the mixed emotions it raises of awe and apprehension, yet cannot be declined…” (ibid.) In 1830 he writes in a letter that he has “spent nearly four weeks most delightfully in Devonshire, where I have three stations, Offwell, Sidmouth and Exeter”, obviously missing the Devon landscapes of his youth (ibid.)

The original artwork, oil on canvas in colour, by Sir Martin Archer Shee (1769-1850), a portrait painter and writer, is on permanent loan to Allhallows Museum in Honiton, Devon.

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