Elizabeth Pigot (1726–1766)

This portrait of Elizabeth Pigot from around 1760 forms a pair with the companion portrait of William Pigot, following the standard practice of commissioning matching husband-and-wife portraits. Wright's early portraiture served the provincial gentry of Derbyshire and the surrounding counties. Wright mastered oil on canvas chiaroscuro effects inspired by Dutch nocturnal painters and Caravaggio, creating scenes lit by single artificial sources—candles, furnaces, molten metal—that gave his...

The female portrait matches the companion piece in scale and format, with Wright's careful attention to costume, complexion, and character creating a dignified record of provincial gentility.