Peter Dillon

Of unknown origin, Dillon’s first name was only established by this work. He was presumably trained in Dublin, where he exhibited miniatures on three occasions: at the Society of Artists of Ireland in 1802 and 1804 (House of Lords and Allen’s Gallery) and at the Hibernian Society of Artists in 1815 (Del Vecchio’s). He clearly spent time in Waterford and must have tried to establish himself there, with address on the principal thoroughfare, adjacent to the Cathedral quarter and then Assembly Rooms. Although the economic impact of the Act of Union is now debated, there was clearly a loss of clientele in Dublin. Dillon also engraved two of his own miniatures and made a bookplate for Michael H. Fitzpatrick (BM, London). Brendan Rooney has found a newspaper reference to his death in Clonmel, so a little more has been added to his biography.