Anne Hammersley (1773–1841)

Anne Hammersley, painted by Opie in 1805 at the Manx Museum, was a woman connected to the Isle of Man — an island with its own distinct legal and cultural identity within the British Isles. The Manx Museum in Douglas holds the island's principal art collection, including this portrait as part of a record of Manx social history. The 1805 date places it among Opie's final significant commissions before his death in 1807. Anne Hammersley's later dates 1773–1841 mean she was thirty-two at the time of painting — a mature woman in the prime of life rather than a debutante portrait. Opie's treatment of mature female subjects is characterised by psychological dignity and honest observation rather than flattery, making portraits of women at this stage of life among his most interesting achievements.

Opie's mature female portraits from the early nineteenth century maintain his characteristic bold modelling while adapting to the fashion conventions of the period — empire-line dresses and the lighter, more transparent fabrics of Regency fashion require different handling from the heavier silks and satins of earlier decades. The face retains his sculptural approach while the dress is rendered with appropriate lightness.