Mary, Lady Templetown (after Thomas Lawrence)

Mary, Lady Templetown (after Thomas Lawrence), painted around 1805 and now in York Art Gallery, is a copy after the pre-eminent British portrait painter of the Regency era — Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830), who succeeded Reynolds and Gainsborough as the dominant force in English portraiture. Copying Lawrence's work gave Etty access to the latest conventions of fashionable British portrait painting: the silvery palette, the spirited treatment of drapery and lace, and the psychological engagement with individual character that distinguished Lawrence from his predecessors. Lady Templetown (née Mary Townley) was a typical subject of Lawrence's aristocratic commissions, and Etty's copy of her portrait placed him in dialogue with the tradition he was simultaneously departing from through his Continental influences. The contrast between Lawrence's cool, aristocratic elegance and the warm Venetian colorism that Etty was developing through study of Titian and Rubens defines the central artistic tension of his early career.

Executed in Oil on canvas, the work showcases William Etty's rich Venetian coloring, with particular attention to the interplay of light across the sitter's features. The handling of drapery and accessories demonstrates the technical refinement expected of formal portraiture.