Lady Elizabeth Hamilton
Joshua Reynolds·1758
Historical Context
Reynolds's Lady Elizabeth Hamilton at the National Gallery of Art belongs to his extensive production of female aristocratic portraits from the 1770s and 1780s. Lady Elizabeth, later married into the Forbes family, was from one of Scotland's most prominent noble families, and Reynolds's portrait presented her with the combination of individual character and elevated presentation that his Grand Manner theory required. His Scottish aristocratic sitters represented one of the important market segments of his London practice — the Scottish nobility who came to London for the social season and sought the prestige of a Reynolds portrait as a visual credential of their status.
Technical Analysis
The portrait demonstrates Reynolds's newly enriched palette after his Italian training. The warm, golden tones and atmospheric handling show the influence of Titian and the Venetian colorists, transformed for English portraiture.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the newly enriched palette — golden, warm, Venetian-influenced — that distinguishes Reynolds's post-Italian style from his earlier work
- ◆Look at the luminous flesh tones built through transparent layering over a warm ground
- ◆Observe the formal elegance of the pose — Reynolds creates aristocratic dignity without rigidity
- ◆Find the atmospheric handling of the background: neither specific nor empty, it frames the figure without competing
- ◆Notice the expression: composed and assured, the self-possession of a young woman of high birth
Provenance
Painted for the sitter's mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of Hamilton and Brandon [1734-1790]; by descent through her second husband, John, 5th Duke of Argyll [1723-1806], to George, 8th Duke of Argyll [1723-1806]; (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 17 March 1855, no. 91); bought by the King for Welbore Ellis, 2nd Earl of Normanton [1778-1868], Somerley, Hampshire; by descent to Sidney, 4th Earl of Normanton [1865-1933];[1] sold 22 March 1909 to (Thos. Agnew & Sons, London); sold the same day to (Arthur J. Sulley & Co., London);[2] purchased 1909 by Peter A.B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener; gift 1942 to NGA. [1] The additional Dukes of Argyll and 3rd Earl of Normanton listed in the former owner table in NGA's collection database are per The Getty Provenance Index, and NGA curatorial records. [2] Agnew stock books, recorded by The Getty Provenance Index.
See It In Person
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