Mrs Robert Trotter of Bush

Robert Trotter of Bush from 1788 represents the provincial gentry who formed an important part of Romney's clientele. Born in the Lake District, Romney maintained connections with northern English families throughout his career. Romney's oil handling was distinguished by fluid, rapidly applied strokes and an instinctive sense of elegant silhouette, producing portraits of apparent effortlessness that concealed careful preparatory drawing. Romney's obsession with Emma Hamilton—whom he painted over sixty times as Ariadne, Medea, Calypso, and dozens of other mythological figures—reveals the Romantic imagination beneath his fashionable surface, his sitter becoming a vehicle for his artistic.

The sitter is presented with dignified simplicity, Romney's warm palette and fluid handling creating a portrait of quiet elegance and naturalistic character.