Mary Linwood was born in Birmingham in 1755. Her family moved to Leicester in 1764.

They were a middle-class family who had to work but made enough money to be comfortable. Her father ran a wine business and her mother set up a private school for girls. Mary ran the school after her mother died. She started exhibiting her artwork as a young woman and went on to have a successful career as an artist. She died in 1845 leaving a large fortune. She was not married and had no children.

Personal Life Gallery