Portrait of the Ladies Amabel and Mary Jemima Yorke
Joshua Reynolds·c. 1761
Historical Context
Reynolds's Portrait of the Ladies Amabel and Mary Jemima Yorke at the Cleveland Museum depicts two daughters of Philip Yorke, Earl of Hardwicke — aristocratic sisters painted in the outdoor, informal manner that Reynolds developed for female group portraits in the 1760s. The work demonstrates his approach to aristocratic female portraiture: the sitters placed in a natural landscape setting, their informal interaction suggesting ease and social grace rather than formal ceremony. The combination of specific individual characterization with the elevated compositional approach drawn from Italian masters created images that satisfied the aristocracy's desire for both documentary accuracy and visual distinction.
Technical Analysis
The double portrait balances the two figures in an elegant composition. Reynolds's warm palette and atmospheric handling create a sense of refined intimacy, with the sisters' costumes painted in complementary tones.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the complementary tones of the two sisters' dresses — Reynolds choreographs colour across the canvas even in figure groupings
- ◆Look at the affectionate interaction suggested by their poses — this is a portrait of a relationship, not just two individuals
- ◆Observe the landscape setting, which Reynolds associates with natural ease and aristocratic freedom rather than indoor formality
- ◆Find the handling of facial expressions: each woman has individual character, not just decorative prettiness
- ◆Notice the warm atmospheric background that softens the landscape without distracting from the figures
Provenance
Philip Yorke, Viscount Royston, later Second Earl of Hardwicke [1720-1790], St. James Square, London, by descent to his daughter Amabel Yorke, later Hume-Campbell, 1st Countess de Grey; Amabel Hume-Campbell, 1st Countess de Grey [1751-1833], by descent to her great niece Anne Florence de Grey; Anne Florence de Grey, Baroness Lucas [died 1880], by descent to her son, Francis Thomas de Grey; Francis Thomas de Grey, Seventh Earl Cowper, Seventh Baron Lucas and Tenth Baron Dingwall [1834-1905], by descent to his nephew Auberon Thomas Herbert; Auberon Thomas Herbert, Eighth Baron Lucas and Eleventh Baron Dingwall [1876-1916], by descent to his sister Nan Ino Cooper; Nan Ino Cooper, Ninth Baroness Lucas and Twelfth Baroness Dingwall [1880-1958], consigned to sale at Christie's London; (Christies’s, London, May 26, 1922, lot 78); (Agnew, London); (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); John L. Severance, Cleveland, OH, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
See It In Person
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