John Opie: A Cornish Wonder and the Dawn of Romantic Portraiture Born in Mithian, a small village near St Agnes in Cornwall, on May 16th, 1761, John Opie’s life was one of remarkable early talent and a tragically curtailed career. He wasn't simply a painter; he was, as his contemporaries dubbed him, a “Cornish Wonder,” a child prodigy whose skill with brush and canvas defied conventional expectations for the time. His story is not just one of artistic achievement but also of social circumstance, familial support, and the evolving landscape of British art in the late 18th century. Opie’s earl…