Moses Haughton

Moses Haughton, an artist whose surname was occasionally written down as Horton, made his mark on the British art scene of the late Renaissance with his distinctive talent and sensitive aesthetic. Born around 1734 and baptized on March 27, 1735, Haughton's artistic career began in the unassuming Staffordshire town of Wednesbury, where he completed his apprenticeship as an enamel painter in the workshop of Hyla Holden. His destiny took him to Birmingham in 1761, a city then considered the cradle of the Industrial Revolution. There he worked for John Baskerville and Henry Clay, well-known figures on the art scene, with whom he honed his craft on enameled, lacquered and papier-mâché products. His artistic journey, however, took him not only through the workshops and studios of his mentors, but also to the haven of marriage. He married Elizabeth Haughton (1741 - January 13, 1816), a woman whose support certainly guided him on his creative path. The turning point in Haughton's career came in 1809, when he and Samuel Lines founded the Life Academy on Peck Lane, a nondescript street near the former Free Grammar School. This life school was so successful that it soon had to be moved to a larger space in Union Passage. From this remarkable institution emerged the prestigious (Royal) Birmingham Society of Artists in 1821.