- Mrs. Elisha Mathew
Frame: 103 3/4 × 67 3/4 in. (263.5 × 172.1 cm)
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One of Sir Joshua Reynolds' gifts as a painter was his ability to combine truth with fiction, and his paintings of women—especially young women—were intended to be explicitly flattering.
Reynolds is perhaps the most important figure in the history of English painting. He was a painter and writer, the first president of the Royal Academy of the Arts, and the leading portraitist of his day. In this superlative example of his work, he endows Mrs. Mathew with unusual poise and a glamour that is enhanced by the beautifully painted folds and drapes of her grey dress.
ProvenanceSir Joshua Reynolds, London; bequeathed with the contents of his studio to his niece, the Marchioness of Thomond; [Christie’s, London, May 18, 1821, lot 713]; Fiedler collection; Whitehead collection; (Whitehead sale, June 21, 1834, lot 136); Wynn Ellis; (Wynn Ellis sale, May 6, 1876); Graves collection; W. Sterling Crawford, 1876; Caroline, Duchess of Montrose, widow of W. Sterling Crawford; [Christie’s, London, June 13, 1896, lot 70]; [Agnew’s, London); Sir Joseph Benjamin Robinson, 1st Bt.; [Christie’s, London, July 6, 1923, lot 20, bought back by owner]; Sir Joseph Robinson, 2nd Bt.; by inheritance to his sister Princess Labia; by descent in the family until 1988; [The Leger Galleries, London, 1989]; purchased by MFAH, 1989.
Exhibition History"Visions of Fancy: George Romney, 18th-Century Paintings and Drawings," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 14, 2012–January 20, 2013.
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