page_title: Hone family
section_title: Nathaniel Hone the Elder, RA (1718–1784)
hierarchical_section_title: Hone family / Progenitors / Nathaniel Hone the Elder, RA (1718–1784)
context_page_description: The Hone family is an Anglo-Irish family dating back to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland when Samuel Hone arrived with the Parliamentary army in 1649. The family is believed to be of Dutch extraction, although no connection to the Netherlands has yet been found.
context_section_description: Nathaniel Hone the Elder was the first Hone to enter the arts. He was notably one of the founder members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Nathaniel married Mary Earle, who has been described in varying sources as either the natural daughter of John Campbell, 4th Duke of Argyll or as a 'nobleman's mistress'. Nathaniel and Mary had 12 children in total, 2 of whom, Horace and John Camillus (the subjects of many of Hone's early paintings), became accomplished artists in their own right. 
  Horace Hone (1756-1825), a prominent society portrait miniature painter, was appointed an associate member of the Royal Academy in 1779. In 1795, Horace Hone was appointed miniature painter to the Prince of Wales, then the future George IV.
   
  John Camillus Hone (1759-1836), another of Nathaniel's sons, was also a portrait and miniature painter. John had a flourishing career as a painter with exhibitions at the Royal Academy from 1776 to 1780 before he went out to the East Indies to refine his art skills. John Camillus Hone returned to Dublin in 1790 and was appointed to the office 'Engraver of Dies' by the Lord-Lieutenant the Earl of Westmorland.
caption: Nathaniel Hone the Elder (a self-portrait circa 1760).
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