Flaxman, Mary Ann

Submitted by edpope on

HCR diary 20.6.1818 "a call on Miss Flaxman"

                    24.2.1820 "at Flaxman's - I saw only Miss Fl: and Miss Denman"

                 13.12.1820 "went to Flaxman's with Aders"

                 20.12.1820 "at Aders. The Flaxmans there - by this introduction I have highly pleased the Aders. The more so as I fear after all MrsA: is not a visitable person and I fear too that she is aware of it. I am under some apprehension that if Flaxman should ever happen to know the history of Mrs A life that he may not chuse to keep up the acquaintance. He may possibly be displeased with me for the introduction."

letter Mrs Aders in London to HCR in Italy 20.11.1829 "account of Mis Flaxman's proceedings which I know you are sincerely interested about but all I can at present tell you is, that I received a very friendly note from her, begging me to forgive her, and appologize to Mrs Ley for their not having as yet called upon her, but that they were moving their lodgings, had gone through much vexations and trouble, hoped however that we should now meet them oftener, as they were coming much nearer to me, namely, Upper Norton St no 47. I sent there to them but they were still very busy, but would be able to see me in a week, I suspect they have had some disagreement with the sister but this is only surmise"

letter Mrs Aders in London to HCR in Italy 10.1.1830 (re: the Flaxmans) "As I expected there has been some disagreement between them and the sister they lived with, and now they are with the other sister and Brother, whose name I think is John Denman, to whom when I saw him I took a great dislike. They have the first floor and bedroom upstairs, and as usual their two drawing rooms are fitted up with superior judgement and taste with all those exquisite works of art"

 HCR diary 7.2.1832 "I sat an hour and a half with Miss Flaxman and had an interesting chat with her - she informed me that Mrs Masquerier some years ago informed her of the history of Mrs Aders of which she would probably have heard nothing and that this had given both her and Miss D: a great deal of pain. It had however produced no bad effect on their mind towards Mrs Aders. For - said Miss Fl: - I only loved and pitied her the more. I was relieved by finding that she quite approved of my not having mentioned this matter to her brother. Mrs Masquerier also spoke of it to Mrs Kay as well as formerly to Miss Maling. I should have been greatly annoyed by this circumstance but for the generous and amiable feelings manifested by Miss F:"

                   15.4.1833 HCR visited Miss Flaxman who was ill with influenza (she died two days later)

The above are just a few of the mentions of Miss Flaxman I noted from Crabb Robinson's diary, and there were probably many others I didn't note. Mary Ann Flaxman (DNB 1768-1833), her will PCC 1833 left money to her cousins the Mathers after Maria Denman's death (James Mathers of the Bank of England will PCC 1797 married at St Stephen Walbrook on 12.11.1780 Catherine Gordon, presumably a sister of Mary Ann Flaxman's mother Elizabeth nee Gordon). She also left rings to several family members but the only ring she left to a friend was to Henry Crabb Robinson. After John Flaxman's death in 1827 Mrs Aders still referred to Miss Flaxman and her sister-in-law Maria Denman as "the Flaxmans". Both women had lived with John Flaxman before and after his wife's death, but when Flaxman died Maria's brother Thomas Denman, a sculptor, took over Flaxman's house in Buckingham Street and the two women moved to Norton Street. See my entries for Denman, Kay, Maling and Masquerier, and for Mrs Aders and her daughter Mrs Ley see my background article 3 Wives, 3 Husbands Living.