13 Facts About Letitia Bushe

Letitia Bushe was born around 1705 or 1710 in Dangan, County Kilkenny.

Letitia Bushe was the daughter of Arthur Bushe, a secretary to the commissioners of revenue, and Mary.

Letitia Bushe was continuously in demand as a lady's companion due to her conversational skills, which leading to her teach painting to many women and their children.

Letitia Bushe was a friend of Mary Delany, Jonathan Swift and Anne Donnellan.

Letitia Bushe had a six-year relationship with a younger woman Lady Anne Bligh, which some have speculated to have been a romantic one.

Letitia Bushe was buried the following day in St Andrew's church, Dublin.

Letitia Bushe stayed with Delany on numerous occasions, and a miniature of Bushe by Joseph Browne is included in the 1861 Correspondence of Mrs Delany edited by Lady Llanover.

Much of what is known about Letitia Bushe's life is from the letters between her and Delany.

Details included was the fact that Letitia Bushe contracted smallpox which marred her good looks, and her poverty after her father's death is the reason she believed she did not receive any offers of marriage.

Bush and Delany remained very good friends, with Delany referring to Letitia Bushe drawing landscapes, and cleaning painting at Delany's home Delville House.

In Ireland, Letitia Bushe painted studies of country houses, including their gardens.

Letitia Bushe made antiquarian drawings for Bishop Robert Clayton, a friend of Delany.

Letitia Bushe's drawing of the Templebryan stone circle has been noted by scholars as an early example of artistic engagement with Irish antiquities.