Maria Cosway: The Most Fascinating 18th-century Woman You’ve Never Heard Of!

According to legend, Thomas Jefferson was walking along a street in Paris, when he spied the famous painter Maria Cosway. He leapt over a fence to get close to her—and fell and broke his wrist. How did this girl, born to English parents in Florence, Italy, become an artistic luminary in the innermost circles of London society—and so ensnare the heart of Thomas Jefferson? Maria (rhymes with Messiah) Cosway is about to make her public debut for Colonial Williamsburg in New Orleans for the 95th Annual Conference of the National Council for the Social Studies. Portrayed by… me.

I’m no stranger to presenting at national conferences, as that’s a major part of my job with Colonial Williamsburg. Our mission is to take American history to new and distant audiences across the country, knowing that an encounter with a historical character will inspire them to take the journey to Williamsburg and experience those stories first-hand. I have an MFA in Classical Theatre from George Washington University, so my colleagues thought this was a fantastic opportunity for me to put all of my skills to use—acting, historical research, and the ability to wear really big hair.

When I had the opportunity to meet Barbara Oberg, the preeminent authority of Jefferson in the United States and scholar of the Jefferson Papers at Princeton, I explained that I was about to take on portraying Maria Cosway. Dr. Olberg has spent years reading Jefferson’s mail. She grabbed my hands, looked me square in the face and stated, “You know, she was the love of his life.”

Born Maria Louisa Catherine Cecilia Hadfield on June 11, 1760 to British parents in Florence, Italy, Maria was a skilled artist in her own right, exhibiting more than 40 works of art at the London Royal Academy. She took up painting at age eight, and her father saw to it that she had the finest tutors in all of Italy to help foster her talent. By the time she and her mother moved to London, Maria had already been admitted to the Accademia di Disegno of Florence, similar to the Royal Academy in London. Once she reached London and married Richard Cosway, she had high hopes for her artistic career. But Richard did not want his wife to be a “professional” artist. She could exhibit her work as part of his studio, but she could not earn a living from her work. She would find this arrangement to be very stifling as their married life progressed.

One of her greatest works, The Hours, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1783. Soon immortalized by the engraver Francesco Bartolozzi, her work became very popular in Paris, where it impressed Thomas Jefferson in 1788. Jefferson wrote to her, “Your hours, my dear friend are no longer your own. Everybody now demands them: and were it possible for me to want a memorandum of you, it is presented me in every street of Paris.”

Jefferson and Cosway met for the first time in Paris in September 1786. She was there on a trip with her husband and Jefferson, of course, was the U.S. Ambassador. It was during these weeks spent touring Paris that Jefferson formed an… attachment towards Maria… one that has had historians speculating its extent and nature ever since. Maria was a practicing Catholic, and for her, divorce was out of the question. She had married Richard Cosway more out of financial necessity than love, and Maria’s mother had arranged it all. Jefferson had been recently widowed and, although 17 years her senior, found a kindred artistic spirit in Maria.

I have come to the conclusion that, had they met in America, their relationship probably would not have blossomed. But in the Paris of the 1780s, away from both Jefferson’s new republic and the confines of London society, these two remarkable individuals developed a relationship that would last the rest of their lives.

If you want a really good romantic read—clocking in at some 12 handwritten pages, in Jefferson’s left hand, no less (as he’d hurt his right wrist jumping over that fence), check out Jefferson’s Head and Heart Dialogue. It is a heart-tugging ode to his days with the Cosways in Paris. Here’s a link to the full transcript of the letter at the National Archives.

But besides being Thomas Jefferson’s “impossible love,” Maria is also the Kevin Bacon of the late 18th and earlier 19th centuries. She knew everyone! Are you a fan of Alexander Hamilton? She was BFFs with Angelica Schuyler Church, one of those swanky Schuyler sisters. Maria was so close to Louise de Stolberg, Countess of Albany and wife of Charles Edward Stuart—better known as “Bonny Prince Charlie”—that Maria’s daughter was named after Louise, who was her godmother. There’s a great story about Louise being summoned to Paris in 1809 by Napoleon and asked if she’d borne a child by Charles Edward. Napoleon wanted to use this heir to cause an insurrection in Britain. When Louise told Napoleon there was no such child, she was promptly dismissed.

Oh, and of course, Maria knew Napoleon Bonaparte himself. Maria would move to Paris from London in 1801 as her marriage to Richard would take a rocky turn due in part to the death of their only child Louisa in 1796. Her plan was to copy the Italian works in the Louvre that Napoleon had acquired (aka plundered). She created a portfolio of these works and put a fantastic spin on the whole plundering bit by stating that “the history of every picture will be very curious as we have collected in one spot the finest works of art which were spread all over Italy.” She had a red Moroccan leather folder that contained miniatures of these works, and more importantly the signatures of those individuals who had subscribed to these works. Her most precious signature was that of Napoleon himself. Her plan to copy all of these great Italian works would unfortunately fail, but it put her in a position in 1803 to take on what she felt was her life’s calling: education. She would open two schools, the first in Lyons, France and second, her pride and joy, the College of Beata Vergine della Grazie in Lodi, Italy. In Lodi, she ended her days surrounded by the girls who had essentially become her adoptive family. Thanks to Maria, these students received an enlightened education unlike any other that could be offered in Europe.

It has been so fulfilling to get to explore this exceptional woman’s life for over a year now. She was truly a self-made woman She knew the most important historical figures of her day and had such a keen intellect that she could hold discourse with some of the greatest minds of 18th and 19th centuries.

And what about Jefferson? Maria would write him one last letter from Italy in 1824, two years before Jefferson’s death. She had one last request of him: “I have had my great saloon painted, with the representation of the 4 parts of the world and the most distinguished objects in them. I have a loss for America… I have left a hill barren as I would like to place Monticello, & the Seminary, if you favor me with some description that I might have it introduced you would oblige me much.” Jefferson would never reply and the hill would remain forever barren—a fitting testament to what might have been.

GUEST BLOGGER: ERIN SLOAN

Erin’s entire family is employed at Colonial Williamsburg in some manner or other. She’s pictured here pretty much how she looks every Saturday in The Revolutionary City with her daughter Corporal Sloan, bass drummer with the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums.

She spends most days in the Bruton Heights education complex, spreading the good news that is The Idea of America™, Teacher Institute, and HERO.