Editing Joseph Severn (section)

== Early years in London 1815-1820==

[[Image:JohnKeats1819 hires.jpg|right|thumb|John Keats by Severn 1819]]
In 1815, he was admitted to the Royal Academy Schools in London and exhibited his first work in [[Oil painting|oil]], ''Hermia and Helena'', a subject from ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', along with a portrait miniature, ''J. Keats, Esq'', in the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1819. He probably first met the poet John Keats in the spring of 1816.

In 1819, Severn was awarded the gold medal of the [[Royal Academy]] for his painting ''Una and the Red Cross Knight in the Cave of Despair'' which was inspired by the epic poem [[The Faerie Queene]] by [[Edmund Spenser]]. It was the first time the prize had been awarded in eight years, and the painting was exhibited at the Academy in 1820. This award also allowed Severn to apply for a three years' travelling [[studentship]], paid for by the Royal Academy. The painting was purchased by [[Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton|Lord Houghton]], the first biographer of Keats;<ref>{{Cite web|title=JOSEPH SEVERN {{!}} PROSPERO AND ARIEL, FROM SHAKESPEARE'S THE TEMPEST|url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/refining-taste-works-selected-by-danny-katz/joseph-severn-prospero-and-ariel-from-shakespeares|website=[[Sotheby's]]}}</ref> although it was recorded as sold by Christie's in June 1963,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Scott|first=Grant|title=Joseph Severn: Letters and Memoirs|publisher=Routledge|year=2017|isbn=978-0754650140|location=Oxford, England|pages=Chronology 4}}</ref> it has since disappeared from public view and there are no reproductions of it in the public domain.

According to a new edition of Severn's letters and memoirs, Severn fathered an [[illegitimate child]] named Henry (b. 31 Aug 1819) about a year before leaving England for Italy.<ref>Scott, ''Letters and Memoirs'', p. 27</ref> In 1826 there were plans for father and son to reunite, but Henry died, aged 11, before he could make the journey to Rome.<ref>Scott and Brown, ''New Letters'', 16 April 1831</ref>