Ignazio Hugford, or Ignatius Heckford (1703 – 1778), was an Italian painter active mostly in Tuscany in an early Neoclassic style.
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Ignazio Hugford was born in Pisa, the son of a resident English watchmaker who worked for the House of Medici.
Hugford was first apprenticed at the age of 9 years to Anton Domenico Gabbiani. In 1745, he painted over a dozen canvases for the refectory of the Benedictine Abbey of Vallombrosa, where his brother, Ferdinando Enrico, became abbot. Enrico was instrumental in the development of techniques for scagiola [1] . Hugford joined the Accademia del Disegno of Florence, and published a biography on his mentor. He was also involved in designs for works in scagliola. Among his masterpieces inpainting is the Countess Matilde Donates her Riches to the Church in the church of San Bartolommeo in Pantano in Pistoia.[2] In the same Pistoiese church are canvasses of St. Peter crosses the fire and Sant'Atto receives the relics of Sant'Jacopo. The Pieve di S. Andrea a Doccia houses an altarpiece of Saints Charles Borromeo, Philip Neri and Antonio Abate before a Crucifix (1776).
Hugford died in Florence. Nowadays he is more known as a critic, art scholar, and for his efforts as an agent for collectors. Among his pupils were Francesco Bartolozzi, Lamberto Cristiano Gori, Giovanni Battista Cipriani, and Sante Pacini.
The Burlington Magazine (1971) pp. 500–505, 507.