217:; it has a certain psychological depth brought about with the attention given to the details of dress and texture as testaments to worldly elegance and wealth. The model's hair is treated in the same manner as the leaves and branches of the trees in the background and some of the sunset's pink glaze is reflected in the colour of her gown. The lonely tree behind her matches her isolated figure and adds to the impression of the remoteness of the abandoned feminine figure in the deserted landscape; possibly longing for something she cannot achieve in her life. A shimmering transparent effect is given to the hand-held scarf by the use of long brush strokes and thin oil colour. The portrait captures the model's charming personality and fresh beauty; her face is the only part of the painting that is calm and solid. The paint is applied with soft and nervous, flying brush strokes. The artist is treating the surface of the woman's gown with long zigzagging brushes of thin oil paint all the way down to her feet, to achieve the vibrant effect, versus the calm of her face.
254:"I have heard today of the sale of the beautiful portrait of Mrs. Sheridan by Gainsborough, which I have gased at so often over the library fireplace at Delapré , and that it bought £3,000. Baron Rothschild being the purchaser. I think it well to note that that I heard from the father of the late General B., known as Squire Bouverie, the manner in which the picture came into the family. Sheridan was at the time in great money difficulties, and living next door to Lady Robert Spencer, Squire Bouverie's mother, when a seizure was made by the Sheriff. Sheridan's servant knew the value his master set on this picture of his beautiful wife, and he managed to detach it hurriedly from the frame (a very large one and to get it over the wall into Lady Robert Spencer's garden. Poor Sheridan was glad to save the picture from his creditors, and leave it in his fiend's hands, from whom he got advances of money until he should redeem it. That redemption never occurred, and so it became Bouverie property, and has now realised £3,000."
31:
210:. The sitter's garb and "the windblown landscape ... reflect the strong romantic component in Gainsborough's artistic temperament ... Her chin and mouth are firm, definite, and sculptural, and her heavily drawn eyebrows give her a steady, composed, and dignified expression. There is a hint of romantic melancholy in her eyes, with their slightly indirect gaze ... The painting is executed in liquid paint, blended wet into wet, applied in many layers in order to create a rich and sumptuous effect, with thin washes in free-flowing brushstrokes for the details."
142:, an English musician and composer, and her mother was Mary Johnson (1729–1820) who was also a talented musician. Elizabeth was the couple's eldest daughter – there was an older brother but he died in early childhood– several of whom inherited their parents musical abilities. It is likely she began singing at concerts when she was only nine years old and made her formal stage début alongside her brother, also named
201:
The oil on canvas painting measures 219.7 × 153.7 cm (86.5 × 60.5 in). The depiction of full-figure portraits in nature was a speciality of 18th-century
English artists, especially Gainsborough who delighted in painting landscapes; Elizabeth with her love for the English
166:
as "infinitely superior to all other
English singers." According to later newspaper reports their courtship was "one of the classic romances of the west country" and she was "the most beautiful singer in England". After they were officially married Sheridan would not allow her to appear on stage in a
184:
The
Sheridans had a tempestuous marriage as they were an ill-matched couple with Sheridan preferring city life in contrast to Elizabeth's love of the countryside. Elizabeth begged her husband to "Take me out of the whirl of the world, place me in the quiet and simple scenes of life I was born for."
185:
Sheridan had several affairs, as did
Elizabeth, and they spent a great deal of time apart. By the time she was 36, in 1790, Elizabeth was showing signs of ill-health but had to maintain the appearance of an involvement with London society. While visiting
121:
in 1773 and abandoning her career. She was 31-33 when she sat for
Gainsborough, dying from tuberculosis seven years later at the age of thirty-eight. The portrait was painted between 1785 and 1787, and, was exhibited at Gainsborough's studio at
161:
and an invalid marriage may have taken place in March 1772 but there are no official records to verify it. The couple were officially married on 13 April 1773 after their return to
Britain, the period when Elizabeth was described by
157:, but the engagement was broken off shortly before the wedding took place. Long paid her compensation of £3,000 in 1771 and she also received £1,000 worth of clothing and jewellery. She moved to France in 1772 accompanied by
138:
Elizabeth Ann
Sheridan (née Linley) was born in the autumn of 1754 but the exact date varies with sources giving 4, 5 or 7 September, at either Abbey Green or 5 Pierrepont Street, Bath. Her father was
193:
and they became lovers. She conceived a child by him, a baby girl who was born on 30 March 1792. The trauma of childbirth exacerbated
Elizabeth's illness and she died of tuberculosis on 28 June 1792.
236:, who were friends of the Sheridan's as a result, of Sheridan's money problems. In her diary on 12 March 1872, following the sale of the portrait by Harriet's grandson General
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had been a friend of the family since 1759 and he painted several portraits of the Linley family. Elizabeth was also the model for the
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181:, which was successfully exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1775, and described by Reynolds as "the best picture I ever painted."
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272:, Pittsburgh bought the artwork on 26 April 1937 and it was then donated to the National Gallery of Art.
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countryside was the ideal model for him. The composition is diagonal and is in the
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professional capacity as he felt it reflected badly on his status as a gentleman.
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219.7 cm × 153.7 cm (86.5 in × 60.5 in)
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666:
The Story of
Painting, The Essential Guide to the History of Western Art
153:
At the end of 1770, she was betrothed to an elderly but wealthy suitor,
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The painting was subsequently owned by various members of the famous
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113:) was a talented musician who enjoyed professional success in
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Northampton
Chronicle and Echo - Monday 08 June 1903, page 2
423:, vol. 185, no. 30546, p. 6, 10 November 1950
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349:, vol. 179, no. 9093, p. 14, 19 October 1935
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genre. The NGA describes the work as "freely painted" and
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512:
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704:
Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Concise Global History
539:
British and American Grand Manner Portraits of the 1700s
447:"Richard Brinsley Sheridan, poet, dramatist, statesman"
607:
557:
505:
315:"Linley [Sheridan], Elizabeth Ann (1754–1792)"
264:
banking family up until 1936, when it was sold to the
244:. Mrs. Caulfield, wife of the second son of the first
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322:(online, May 2009 ed.), Oxford University Press
872:
Mrs Elizabeth Moody with her sons Samuel and Thomas
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213:Although using an outside setting, it is not a
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105:between 1785 and 1787. It was acquired by the
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904:Portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
581:
454:, no. 7497, p. 4, 27 February 1879
270:A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust
798:The Painter's Daughters Chasing a Butterfly
864:Portrait of Anne, Countess of Chesterfield
743:
729:
364:
542:, National Gallery of Art, archived from
220:The painting came into the possession of
1000:Paintings in the National Gallery of Art
530:
775:Wooded Landscape with a Herdsman Seated
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382:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
320:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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767:Cornard Wood, near Sudbury, Suffolk
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990:Portraits by Thomas Gainsborough
880:Portrait of the Earl of Sandwich
29:
956:Humphrey Gainsborough (brother)
619:
16:Painting by Thomas Gainsborough
912:Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan
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91:Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan
24:Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan
1:
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637:Mrs Richard Brinsley Sheridan
593:Mrs Richard Brinsley Sheridan
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377:"Linley, Thomas (1733–1795)"
7:
856:Portrait of Mrs Mary Graham
117:and London before marrying
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888:Mr and Mrs William Hallett
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932:
840:Portrait of David Garrick
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640:, National Gallery of Art
596:, National Gallery of Art
464:British Newspaper Archive
433:British Newspaper Archive
384:, Oxford University Press
359:British Newspaper Archive
342:"Mrs Sheridan's portrait"
159:Richard Brinsley Sheridan
119:Richard Brinsley Sheridan
73:
65:
55:
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37:
28:
23:
374:Aspden, Suzanne (2004),
312:Aspden, Suzanne (2004),
208:impressionistic in style
109:in 1937. Mrs. Sheridan (
923:The Woodcutter's Return
688:, Allison & Busby,
662:Beckett, Wendy (1994),
452:Aberdeen Weekly Journal
268:, Inc., in London. The
107:National Gallery of Art
78:National Gallery of Art
702:Kleiner, Fred (2008),
686:Sheridan's Nightingale
684:Chedzoy, Alan (1998),
191:Lord Edward FitzGerald
969:Gainsborough (crater)
670:, Dorling Kidersley,
940:Gainsborough's House
706:, Cengage Learning,
242:Alfred de Rothschild
228:(previously wife of
111:Elizabeth Ann Linley
832:Maria, Lady Eardley
752:Thomas Gainsborough
421:Western Daily Press
416:"Poor Mrs Sheridan"
246:Earl of Charlesmont
171:Thomas Gainsborough
103:Thomas Gainsborough
42:Thomas Gainsborough
919:Cottage Door works
783:Mr and Mrs Andrews
578:, p. 278, 281
546:on 4 December 2014
215:conversation piece
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164:Frances Burney
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848:Woman in Blue
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234:Delapre Abbey
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148:Covent Garden
146:, in 1767 at
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140:Thomas Linley
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96:oil on canvas
94:(1787) is an
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824:The Blue Boy
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655:Bibliography
654:
653:
642:, retrieved
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598:, retrieved
592:
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548:, retrieved
544:the original
538:
532:
495:
490:, p. 61
483:
471:
462:– via
456:, retrieved
451:
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431:– via
425:, retrieved
420:
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386:, retrieved
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357:– via
351:, retrieved
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324:, retrieved
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204:grand manner
200:
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90:
89:
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18:
964:(1945 film)
921:(including
907:(1785–1787)
809:The Gipsies
807:(including
805:Gypsy works
791: 1750
550:30 November
404:, p. 8
197:Description
155:Walter Long
101:painted by
984:Categories
276:References
262:Rothschild
179:St Cecilia
150:, London.
134:Background
66:Dimensions
875:(c. 1780)
867:(1777–78)
835:(c. 1770)
827:(c. 1770)
819:(c. 1767)
759:Paintings
644:20 August
600:17 August
458:17 August
427:17 August
388:17 August
353:17 August
326:17 August
281:Citations
177:painting
130:in 1786.
128:Pall Mall
248:wrote:-
99:portrait
74:Location
949:Related
933:Museums
925:et al.)
811:et al.)
224:, Lady
222:Harriet
915:(1787)
899:(1786)
891:(1785)
883:(1783)
859:(1777)
843:(1770)
801:(1757)
778:(1748)
770:(1748)
710:
692:
674:
144:Thomas
56:Medium
38:Artist
962:Kitty
232:) of
708:ISBN
690:ISBN
672:ISBN
646:2014
602:2014
552:2014
460:2014
429:2014
390:2014
355:2014
328:2014
115:Bath
51:1787
48:Year
240:to
986::
788:c.
583:^
507:^
450:,
419:,
380:,
366:^
345:,
318:,
288:^
126:,
80:,
793:)
786:(
744:e
737:t
730:v
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
