From the Library of Frank Simpson •4 0 Fair Women. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/fairwomenreproduOOgraf Fair Women. REPRODUCTIONS BY THE COLLOTYPE PROCESS OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL WORKS EXHIBITED AT THE GRAFTON GALLERIES IN 1894. THE THOTOGRAPHS HAVE "BEEN TRODUCED {Mr. H. H. HAY CAMERON. LONDON: BLADES, EAST & BLADES, FINE ^RT TRINTERS, 23, ABCHURCH LANE, E.G. 1894. i Blades, East & Blades, Fine Art Printers, 23 Abchurch Lane, London, E.C. Index. INDEX. Title of Pictwe. Name of Artist, Page Her Majesty The Queen _ - _ _ H. VON ANOKLI - - , - 2 H.K.H. ine rrincess of Wales _ - - W. B. RICHMOND, A.R.A. - - - 4 rl.K.rl. ine rrincess Alix oi Jriesse F. A. KAULBACH - - - - La Bella Simonetta - - - - - SANDRO BOTTICELLI (1447-1510) - 8 Lucretia LORENZO LOTTO (148O-1554) 10 Christina, Duchess of Milan - - _ - HANS HOLBEIN (I497"I543J " 12 Lady Jane Grey ------ LUCAb DE HEEKE {i ) (^I534"0"4J " 14 Klizabeth of Valois _ _ _ - _ SIR ANIONIO MORE Or MORO (1512-1582) - - - - 16 Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke MARC GHEER^DTS (d. 1604) - 18 Anne of Austria SIR PETER PAUL RUBENS (l 577-1640) 20 Princess Mary as " Diana " - - - - SIR PETER LELY (1618-1680)- 22 Henrietta Maria ------ SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK (1599-1641) 24 The Countess of Sunderland - - - - SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK ( I 599- 1 64 1 ) 26 The Infanta Maria of Spain - - - - (unknown) ----- 28 Lady Susan Louisa Fox Stransfways ALLAN RAMSAY (1713-1784) - •J Mary Robinson as " Perdita " - SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792)- 32 CoUina -------- SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS ( 1 723- 1 792)- 34 Miss Jacobs ------- SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS ( 1 72 3- 1 792)- 36 •J Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and her Child SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS (1723-1792)- 38 Mrs. Samuel Elliot; Mrs. Crosby; Alicia, Coun- tess of Errol, and the Baroness le Despcncer- SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS ( 1 723- 1 792)- 40 Elizabeth, Lady Forbes - - - - - GEORGE ROMNEY (1734-1802) 42 Charlotte Frances Bentinck, Lady Milnes GEORGE ROMNEY (1734-1802) 44 Emma, Lady Hamilton, as "Ariadne" GEORGE ROMNEY (1734-1802) 46 " Pamela " Fitzgerald - - - _ - GEORGE ROMNEY (1734-1802) 48 Mrs. Anne Carwardine and Child - GEORGE ROMNEY (1734-1802) 50 " Girl's Head " ------ JEAN BAPTISTE GREUZE (1725-1805) 52 " La Jeune Veuve " - - . - - JEAN BAPTISTE GREUZE (1725-1805) 54 Madame du Barry - - JEAN BAPTLSTE GREUZE (1725-1805) 56 Girl with Doves - - JEAN BAPTISTE GREUZE (1725-1805) 58 ERRATA. Index, I St Line — Read, Queen Victoria taking the Oath at the Coronation, June 28th, 1838. By Sir George Hayter. PREFATORY NOTICE. ^ I ^HIS Illustrated Catalogue has been published by ^ the Directors of the Grafton Galleries, in the hope that it may prove to be a pleasant memorial of the Fair Women " Exhibition. November, i8g4. Reprodu£lions and Descriptions. QUEEN VICTORIA TAKING THE OATH AT THE CORONATION, JUNE 28th, 1838. By SIR GEORGE HAYTER. The property of h.r.h. princess henry oe uattenbekg. [ 2 ] HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS OF WALES. By W. B. RICHMOND, A.R.A. The property of h.r.h. the prince of wales. [ 4 ] HER ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCESS ALIX OF HESSE. By F. A. KAULBACH. The property of h.m. the queen. FOURTH daughter of H.R.H. Princess Alice of England and H.R. H. Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse, K.G., born June, 1872. [ 6 ] 4 "LA BELLA SIMONETTA." By SANDRO BOTTICELLI, born 1447, died 15 10. The property of sir francis cook, bart. THIS beautiful Genoese lady was born in 1453, and died in 1475. She is buried in the Church of Ognissanti, Florence, and is remembered by posterity through Botticelli's art, and by the verses in which Polizian has celebrated the passion she awakened in the otherwise stern heart of Giuliano de Medici. [ 8 ] " LUCRETIA. By LORENZO LOTTO, bom 1480, died 1554. The property of captain g. l. holford. LTHOUGH this picture is called " Lucretia," it undoubtedly /"Y represents either the wife or the favourite model of the Venetian artist by whom it is painted, for, in her hand the lady has a pencil sketch of a nude figure holding a dagger poised exactly as would be "the chaste object of Tarquin's lust." This beautiful woman appears in a number of Lotto's pictures, but it is impossible to say, at the present time, who she was. She has been immortalised only by her beauty and by her husband or her friend's {Chi lo sa ?) genius. That she once lived and was as beautiful as her picture represents her cannot be doubted. Possibly she was a woman without a story, simply a good doiina di facenda — as the Italians say — house-wife, who, in addition to mending her husband's clothes and superintending his comforts, occasionally sat to him as a model. [ 1° ] CHRISTINA, DUCHESS OF MILAN. By HANS HOLBEIN, born 1497, died 1543. The property of the duke of Norfolk, k.g. HIS magnificent picture represents the daughter of Christian I II, King of Denmark and of his Queen, Eleonora of Austria. She married at an early age the Duke of Milan, Francesco Sforza, ^.nd, as Duchess of Milan, became renowned for her piety and remarkable intelligence as a politician. It is said that she was the first sovereign in Europe to advocate the abolition of torture, and that she frequently visited the various prisons of Milan in order to see that they were properly kept " clean and orderly." She did not remain long a widow, but in 1540, on the advice of her uncle, Charles V, she married Francis, Duke of Lorraine, by whom she had one son, Charles II. In 1545 she was once more a widow, and had to suffer a great deal of persecution at the hands of Henry II of France, who deprived her of her son, whose education he undertook to attend to himself. The boy was brought to the Louvre and brought up with the children of Henry and Catherine de Medicis, whose daughter Claude he eventually married. The Duchess Christina retired to Mechlin, where she died, deeply regretted, in 1560. Shortly after she became a widow for the first time, Henry VIII, who had just decapitated Catherine Howard, sought her hand in marriage. Christina's reply, although possibly apocryphal, is, nevertheless, famous — " If I had two heads, I would willing give one of them to be Queen of Eng-land." [ 12 ] LADY JANE GREY. By LUCAS DE HEERE, born 1534, died 1584. The property of earl spencer, k.g. THE Royal House of England has produced no fairer sample of womanhood than the lovely and unfortunate Lady Jane Grey. Her^agic fate is one of the saddest in history, and has inspired poets and dramatists innumerable ; but who is there who does not know the story of the "seven days' queen," of the learned and meek victim of political intrigue and religious fanaticism ? The remarkable picture reproduced on the next page, which is attributed to Lucas de Heere, if it be a portrait of Jane Grey, was certainly not by that artist, for he was born in 1554, the year of Jane's execution, but it is not at all improbable that the picture exhibited by Lord Spencer is by Luca Penni, a pupil of Raphael, who worked in England, according to Soprani, until early in the reign of Elizabeth, when he left on account of his religion, and died at Venice in 1565. It is a curious fact in connection with this picture, which can be traced by documentary evidence in possession of the Spencer family, as being known for over two hundred years as a portrait of Jane Grey, that a picture exactly resembling it has existed in Milan for many generations in the family of the Count Trivulgio, which has also always been called a portrait of Jane Grey. This picture is exact in almost every particular, excepting that the position of the figure is slightly altered. Her dress, too, somewhat differs in texture and form. Jane Grey is described by her contemporaries as being short and thin, but prettily shaped and graceful. She had small features, her nose was well-made, [ u ] r her mouth flexible and her Hps very red ; her eyebrows were gracefully arched and darker than her hair, which was a light red. She had small hazel eyes, and a good complexion, which, however, was slightly freckled. We are also assured by an Italian contemporary, who witnessed her walk in the procession as Queen to the Tower, that " when she smiled she showed her teeth, which were white and sharp. In all she was 2. graciosa persona and animated. She wore a dress of green velvet stamped with gold with large sleeves. Her head-dress was a white coif, with many jewels. She walked under a canopy, and her husband, Guilfo (Guildford), walked by her dressed all in white and gold, a very tall strong boy who paid her much attention. Many ladies followed with noblemen, but this lady is very heretica and has never heard mass, and some people did not come to the procession on that account." [ IS ] ELIZABETH OF VALOIS, QUEEN OF SPAIN, THIRD WIFE OF PHILIP II. HE picture here reproduced represents Elizabeth or Isabella of I Valois, daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de Medicis, who was born at Fontainebleau in 1545. This Princess was originally affianced to Edward VI of England, whose premature death, however, put an end to the negotiations. Her hand was next sought for the Infante Don Carlos of Spain, son of Philip II by his first wife, Anne of Nuremberg, and everything was arranged for the marriage, but the death of Mary Tudor, King Philip's second consort, intervened, and the King, who was anxious for an alliance with the House of France, demanded the hand of Isabella for himself on the conclusion of the treaty of Cambray. She was married by proxy in the Church of Notre Dame, Paris, on June 22nd, 1559, and, in consequence of the peace which was proclaimed at the same time, she is known in history as the Princess of Peace — Princesse de la Paix. She bore two children to her husband Philip II, the Infanta Clara Eugenia, who became celebrated as the wife of the Archduke Albert, Governor of the Netherlands, and Catherine, who married Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Savoy. Isabella of Valois died in 1573 in giving birth to a still-born child. Brantome informs us that it was universally believed at the time that she was poisoned. He also By SIR ANTONIO MORE or MORO, born 15 12, died 1582. The property of h, l. bischoffsheim, esq. [ 16 ] relates an anecdote that when she first saw King Philip she stared at him fixedly. He was rather offended, and asked her why she did so. " To see if you have any grey hairs," said she, " for you look as old as my father." This Queen of Spain was greatly beloved by her subjects for her qualities of mind and heart. She was considered by her contemporaries extremely handsome, although inferior in every respect to her sister, Marguerite de Valois, one of the most beautiful women of her age. Isabella of Valois, according to tradition, was the object of a hopeless passion on the part of her step-son, Don Carlos, which, on being discovered by the King, his father, eventually resulted in his imprisonment and death. There are historical grounds to believe this story a fabrication. It is, however, of contemporary origin, and is mentioned in the earliest biographies of Philip II. This illicit love adventure forms the plot of Schiller's famous tragedy of " Don Carlos." Isabella of Valois has been frequently painted, not only by Antonio More, but by an equally great, though less known artist, Sofonisba Anguisciola, the famous pupil of Titian, and friend of Van Dyck. [ 17 ] MARY SIDNEY, COUNTESS OF PEMBROKE. IDNEY'S sister and Pembroke's mother" was the daugfhter of Sir Henry Sidney, K.G., by Mary, eldest daughter of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and sister of Philip Sidney, who, for her amusement,, wrote his famous "Arcadia," which he never completed, and which was not printed in his lifetime. The whole, imperfect as it was, was corrected and published by his sister, so that it is very properly called "The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia." Congenial tastes and pursuits united her and her brother in a bond of " uncommon affection." She was a very learned woman, and a person of~ considerable merits. She has translated from the Hebrew verse several psalms into English ; she also spoke and translated from French, Italian, German, Latin and Greek. In 1576 she married Henry, Earl of Pembroke, whom she survived many years. She died in 1 60 1 at an advanced age. She is interred in Salisbury Cathedral, her epithet being composed by Ben Jonson : — By MARC GHEER/EDTS. The property of lord de lisle and Dudley. Underneath this sable hearse Lies the subject of our verse — Sidney's sister, Pembroke's mother. Death ! Ere thou hast killed another, Fair and learn'd and good as she Time shall throw a dart at thee." [ i« ] f ANNE OF AUSTRIA. By SIR PETER TAUL RUBENS, borii 1577, died 1640. The property of lily, duchess of Marlborough. NNE of Austria has registered her name among those of the /"A great female sovereigns of the world. She was Regent of France during the long minority of her son, Louis XIV, and displayed remarkable talent as a politician. Unfortunately, her impressionable nature placed her so entirely under the influence of the Cardinal de Mazarin as to give rise to a movement, famous in history as the Fronde, which in many ways may be considered a precursor of the great revolution of 1789. On one occasion, indeed, the palace of the Tuileries was invaded by the mob, and the Queen was obliged to exhibit to them the sleeping Dauphin, an incident which recalls a similar scene of a still more violent character which occurred at the end of the i8th century, when Marie Antoinette was forced to show her unfortunate child to the infuriated sans culottes. Anne of Austria has been immortalised by Alexander Dumas in his novels, the " Trois Mousquetaires " and " Vingt ans aprds." [ 20 ] PRINCESS MARY, AFTERWARDS QUEEN MARY II, AS " DIANA." By SIR PETER LELY, born 1618, died 1680. The property of h.m. the queen. THIS exquisitely pretty picture represents a lady who, in later years, certainly denied the promise of her youth, for who can trace in the stern features of Queen Mary II the graceful young girl who is here seen masquerading as Diana? But, according to the universal testimony of her contemporaries, Mary of Orange, as a girl, was very pretty and very merry. Later in life she changed, and, although she became a sagacious sovereign, she was decidedly a disagreeable woman, whose unfilial conduct towards her father, James II, cannot be forgiven or forgotten even by those who most admire the clever and astute consort of William III. It is pleasant, however, to think that even this haughty Queen had, in common with most mortals, a happy childhood, when the frivolities of the masque occupied a mind, which, in later life, was soured by the cares of State. [ 22 ] HENRIETTA MARIA, QUEEN OF CHARLES I. By SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK, born 1599, died 1641. The property of lord wantage, v.c, k.c.b. HENRIETTA Maria, wife of Charles I, was not exactly a beautiful woman, for her contemporaries assure us, that her features were irregular, and her head rather too small for her body. She was, nevertheless, considered supremely elegant. She had, moreover, the advantage of living at a period when female costume had reached its acme of artistic beauty. She was the daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de Medicis, and was married when a very young girl to Charles I of England, who entertained for her a passionate and faithful attachment which never admitted a rival. Notwithstanding she was a well-intentioned and kindly natured woman, she was never popular in England, and when she had to escape with her children to France during the catastrophe which overthrew the throne of her husband, she had good cause to feel glad as she touched French soil, and saw the last of "a people who detested her." During the Commonwealth, Henrietta Maria was rather inhospitably entertained by Louis XIV, who, at one time, even allowed her to lack the necessaries of life. She re-visited England after the accession of Charles II, but remained here only a short time, residing principally, when in London, at Somerset House. We have glympses of Henrietta Maria in the letters of Madame de Sevigne, who describes her as amiable, but of cold and formal manners. She died in Paris in 1669. [ 24 ] DOROTHY SIDNEY, COUNTESS OF SUNDERLAND. HE seventeenth century boasted of many famous and beautiful I women, but none eclipsed Dorothy Sidney, " My Lord Leicester's second daughter." "It was impossible," her contemporaries assure us, " to exaggerate her charms of face and person, or to speak in a tongue she did not understand." Waller, Court poet of Charles II, is said to have fallen desperately in love with her. Be this as it may, she was certainly the divine "Sacharissa" who chiefly inspired his muse. She married first, Henry Spencer, 4th Earl of Sunderland, who fell fighting for his King at the Battle of Newbury. A few years afterwards, Sacharissa became a bride for the second time, and gave her hand to Robert Smythe, Esq., of Bounds. "She fell asleep placidly in the Lord" in 1684. By SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK, bom 1 599, died 1641. The property of lord de lisle and Dudley. [ -6 ] PORTRAIT OF THE INFANTA OF SPAIN. Artist unknown. The property of the earl of Denbigh. THIS interesting picture represents a lady who came very near being Queen of England — the Infanta Maria, daughter of Philip III of Spain. In 1663, Charles I, as heir to the English throne, accompanied by his friend " Steenie," Duke of Buckingham, went to Madrid under assumed names to court and win this Princess. Their adventures were as romantic as any of those which form the plots of the amusing comedies "a capa, y spada," of Calderon and Lope, and have figured in many historical novels. They failed, however, to move the obstinacy of the priests, who determined to oppose the match of a Protestant Prince with so devout a daughter of the Church as the Infanta. Buckingham is said to have produced, a deeper and more lasting impression on the heart of the Princess than did his master. In the right corner of the upper part of this picture is an ancient inscription recording the fact that "This is the picture of the Infanta of Spain, that was brought over by the Duke of Buckingham. She was to have married Charles I." The names by which the Prince and his companion attempted to win the favour of the haughty lady were not perhaps as well chosen as they might have been for the purpose. They went as plain Masters John and Thomas Smith. Needless to recall the fact that this famous incident in the early life of the unfortunate Charles, ended in a terrible war, or that he eventually married the graceful Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henri Quatu. [ 28 ] PORTRAIT OF LADY SUSAN LOUISA FOX STRANGWAYS (AFTERWARDS O'BRIEN). HIS extremely pretty woman was the daughter of the first Earl I of Ilchester, and was bridesmaid to Queen Charlotte, the consort of George III. In 1761 she married Mr. William O'Brien, member of a very ancient Irish family, which, from attachment to the Catholic religion and the Stuarts, left the United Kingdom after the capitulation of Limerick, and followed James II into France. Here, under the auspices of the head of their house. Viscount Clare, they became officers in the Irish Brigade. Mr. O'Brien on returning to England embraced the profession of the stage, and made his first appearance at Drury Lane in 1758, as Captain Bragin, in "The Duel," a piece of his own writing. Mr. O'Brien only remained on the stage six years, and after his marriage never re-appeared. He wrote several excellent comedies and political pamphlets, and, in 1806, was appointed to the patent office of Marshal of the Admiralty at the Cape of Good Hope, at a salary of ^4,000 a year. He died before his wife, who lived till 1827. By ALLAN RAMSAY, borii 1713, died 1784. The property of the earl of ilchester. [ 30 ] MARY ROBINSON AS "PERDITA." By SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A., bom 1 723, died 1792. The property of the marquess of Hertford, MARY Robinson, better known as " Perdita," a poetess and miscellaneous writer, whose maiden name was Derby, was born in 1758, at Bristol. When a mere child, she married an unscrupulous attorney named Robinson, who sent her upon the stage. She made her first appearance at Drury Lane in the character of Juliet, in which she was instructed by Garrick. She was very well received. It was, however, as "Perdita," in the "Winter's Tale," that she first attracted the admiration of the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV, in consequence of which she quitted the stage and became his mistress. The connection was, however, of short duration, for, in 1784, she was attacked by a violent rheumatism which deprived her of the use of her limbs, and she became partly dependent on her pen for the means of support. She died in very painful circumstances in 1800, and many and bitter were the remarks which her abandonment by her Royal lover brought forth from the poets and scribes of the day. [ 32 ] ''COLLINA." By SIR JOSHUA Reynolds, p.r.a., born 1723, died 1792. The property of lord castletown. THIS celebrated and often engraved picture represents the pretty Lady Gertrude Fitzpatrick, daughter of John, second Earl of Upper Ossory. She died unmarried. [ 34 ] MISS JACOBS. By SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, P.R.A., bom 1 723, died 1792. The property of the marquess of Hertford. THIS picture, familiarly known as "The Blue Lady," is probably the portrait of a once celebrated singer, who was distinguished in her time for talent and beauty, but who would long since have been forgotten had it not been for that easel which has preserved to us "The thoughtful foreheads of so many noble statesmen, and the sweet smiles of so many gentle matrons." [ ] GEORGIANA, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE, AND HER CHILD, AFTERWARDS COUNTESS OF CARLISLE. EORGIANA, Duchess of Devonshire, was one of the most beautiful women of the eighteenth century, and, by all accounts, equally entitled to fame as one of the most charming. She was born June 9th, 1757, and married in June, 1774, to the fifth Duke of Devonshire, who was regarded as the first match in England. It was Her Grace who, in her position of reigning Queen of Society, ventured to set the fashion of discarding the hideous hoop skirt, and who invented, so to speak, the well-known hat still in vogue known, because she was painted as wearing it in her famous portraits by that artist, as " the Gainsborough." Independently of her personal charms, she was no ordinary woman, but exceedingly accomplished and well informed. Walpole declared that she "effaces all without being a beauty, but her youthful figure, her flowing good nature, sense and lively modesty, and modest familiarity makes her a phenomenon." The Duchess was the intimate of most of the celebrities of her time, of Sheridan, Fox and Selwyn. She devoted her interest to secure the return of Fox at the famous Westminster election in 1784. During her canvas she entered some of the " most blackguard houses in Long Acre," and was not in the least daunted, and is said to have exchanged By sn< JOSHUA Reynolds, p.r.a., born 1723, died 1792. The property of the duke of Devonshire, k.g. [ 38 ] kisses for votes. She died in 1806 at Devonshire House, and was buried in St. Stephen's Church, Derby. She was a poetess of some distinction, the best of her works being "The passage of the mountain of St. Gothard," which was translated into French by the celebrated Abbe de Lille in 1802. Coleridge admired this work, and wrote of it :— " O, Lady, nursed in pomp and pleasure Whence learned you that heroic measure?" [ 39 ] MRS. SAMUEL ELLIOT; MRS. CROSBY; ALICIA, COUNTESS OF ERROL, AND THE BARONESS LE DESPENCER. By SIR JOSHUA Reynolds, p.r.a., born 1723, died 1792. THE four charming women here depicted owe their fame solely to the pencil of the artist, and may say, each of them : — " While men have eyes to see, So long lives this and this gives life to me." [ 40 ] ^ ELIZABETH, LADY FORBES By GEORGE ROMNEY, born 1734, died 1802. The property of sir john hay, bart. ELIZABETH, daughter of Sir James Hay, Bart., of Smithfield and Haystoun, was married in 1770 to Sir William Forbes, sixth baronet of Pitsligo. [ 42 ] 4 CHARLOTTE FRANCES BENTINCK, LADY MILNES. HARLOTTE Frances Bentinck was the daughter of Count V ^ John Albert Bentinck, Captain, R.N., grandson of the first Earl of Portland, and of Renira, daughter of John, Baron de Tuyll. She married in 1785 Sir Robert Shore Milnes, Bart., Governor of Martinique and of Lower Canada, who died in 1837. Lady Milnes died in 1850. By GEORGE ROMNEY, bom 1 734, died 1802. The property of his excellency lord houghton. [ 44 ] EMMA, LADY HAMILTON, AS "ARIADNE." HOSE who think that posturing for one's portrait is quite a I modern invention and the result of the development of the photographer's art make a great mistake, for never at any period of the world's history has woman been so often painted " like this " and "like that" as Emma, Lady Hamilton. Emma Hamilton was, according to her own memoirs, published in 1815, the daughter of a female servant who had no means but her wages to support herself and her child. When she was thirteen years of age she obtained a situation as nursemaid at Hawarden, which she found, according to her own statement, " deadly dull," and at sixteen she came to London, where she became a shopkeeper in St. James's Market. A little later she was engaged as dresser to a lady of rank, an occupation which occasioned her so much leisure that she was able to study the drama, and even frequent the playhouses, where she acquired, by dint of her extraordinary powers of imitation, her wonderful skill as a pantomimic artiste, which subsequently rendered her notorious, if not exactly celebrated. At the age of twenty she invented for herself a curious profession, and was exhibited under a glass case in a variety of poses by a certain infamous Dr. Graham. In the playbills of this show she is called Hygeia, and so beautiful were her face and form that all London went to see her, and painters and sculptors paid their tribute By GEORGE ROMNEV, bom 1734, died 1802. The property of sir a. w. neeld, bart. [ 46 ] 1 4 of admiration at the shrine of the new goddess. Charles Greville, of the Warwick family, became so enamoured of her that he would have made her his wife had it not been for the interference of his uncle, Sir William Hamilton, the well-known diplomat, who agreed to pay his nephew's debts on the condition that he gave him up his mistress. Sir William made her his wife in 1791, and introduced her at the Court of Naples, where Queen Caroline became so infatuated with her as to grant her the entrde at Court. In 1792 she conceived a violent passion for Nelson, who was then commanding the Agamemnon in the Gulf of Naples, and from that period she was his companion and occasionally useful political agent. After the victory of Aboukir, when the conqueror was received in Naples with extravagant rejoicings, Emma, Lady Hamilton, was the heroine of the crowd. She was, however, an extremely heartless person, and, undoubtedly, inspired the ignominious death of the Prince Coracciolo, the oldest and best officer in the Neapolitan navy. Her influence over Nelson never diminished, and his last words on board the Victory, as he sank in death, were for Emma, whom he commended to the nation's care. The nation shamefully neglected its duty in this respect, and, assuming a virtue which it did not possess, permitted Lady Hamilton to die abandoned and in the direst poverty at Calais in 181 6. [ 47 ] "PAMELA" FITZGERALD. By GEORGE ROMNEY, bom 1734, died 1802. The property of h. l. bischoffsheim, esq. THE story of this lady is a romance in real life. It was positively affirmed at the time she first appeared in London that she was the daughter of Madame de Genlis, by the Duke of Orleans (the infamous "Egalite"). This has been positively contradicted by that lady, who has furnished an account of the affair, which is in substance as follows: — About the year 1782, the Duke of Orleans committed the education of his children to Madame de Genlis, who, anxious that they should become perfect in the living languages, had taken into their service English and Italian female domestics, and, moreover, resolved on educating with her pupils a young English girl of nearly their own age. A Mr. Forth procured the Duke a little Engiish girl of about five years of age, whom he sent over to France by his valet, together with a horse. In a note which is still existing, Mr. Forth writes to the Duke: " I have the honour to send to your highness the finest mare and the prettiest little girl in all England." The infant was Pamela, afterwards Lady Fitzgerald. Madame de Genlis, when Lord Fitzgerald proposed for Pamela, assured him that she was of good birth, being the daughter of a man named Seymour, who married, in spite of his family, a young woman of the lowest class called Mary Syms, and went off with her to Newfoundland, where he established himself at a place called Fogo. There Pamela was born, and received the name of Nancy. Her father died, and the mother returned to England with her child, then eighteen months old. As her husband was disinherited, she was reduced to great misery, [ 48 ] and forced to work for her bread. She had settled at Christchurch, which Mr. Forth passed through four years afterwards, and being com- missioned by the Duke of Orleans to send him a young English girl, he obtained the mother's consent for Pamela to go. This version, however, it is more than probable, was a pure invention of Madame de Genlis, and there is now very little, if any, doubt that Pamela was the daughter of this accomplished woman, whom all Paris knew was the mistress of Philip Egalite. Be this as it may, Pamela grew up to be a beautiful and accomplished girl, in whom the society of the period took the greatest interest. The Revolution drove Madame de Genlis, her daughter or pupil, as we may feel more or less charitably inclined to consider her, and Mile. D'Orleans, the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Orleans, to England. The exquisite beauty of Pamela soon became town talk, and the mysterious circumstances of her birth added not a little to her social popularity. She attracted the attention of Lord Fitzgerald, who fell desperately in love with her, and was accepted by her. Their married life was but of short duration, terminating in 1798 by the tragic death of this patriotic nobleman. Under the reign of Napoleon, Lady Fitzgerald lived a good deal in Paris on fairly good terms with Madame de Genlis, but her circumstances were extremely limited, and she died at Paris in 1 83 1, almost a pauper. She was not only a very beautiful, but a very amiable woman, who certainly deserved a better fate. Like her unfortunate husband, she was one who was born under a distinctly unlucky star. In one of her letters to a friend, she remarks "she does not think that in all her life she really passed a thoroughly happy week," and yet hers was a cheerful and sunny nature. An adverse fate overshadowed her from her birth to her death. [ 49 ] MRS. ANNE CARWARDINE AND CHILD. By GEORGE ROMNEY, born 1734, died 1802. The property of lord hillingdon. THE chief record of this lady is this delightful portrait. We know very little else concerning her, but doubtless, judging from her picture, she was a very sweet and lovable person. She was the wife of the Rev. Thomas Carwardine, of Earl's Colne, Essex, and died in 18 17, aged sixty-five. [ so ] "GIRL'S HEAD." By JEAN BAPTiSTE GREUZE, born 1725, died 1805. The property of LEoroLD de rothschild, esq. OF this charming child nothing is known. But her beauty has been, fortunately for us, immortalised by Greuze in this picture. [ 52 ] " LA JEUNE VEUVE." By JEAN BAPTISTE GREUZE, born 1725, died 1805. The property of baron hirsch. WHO she was, whom she wept for, who dried her tears ? are matters shrouded in the night of time. '•'■Elk a aim'e, elk a pleure et Voild tout." [ 54 ] r MADAME DU BARRY. By JEAN BAPTiSTE GREUZE, born 1725, died 1805. The property of Alfred de rothschild, esq. THE early history. of Madame du Barry was obscure. Her parents were disreputable, and her childhood passed amidst scenes of coarse dissipation. She, nevertheless, managed to obtain a fair education, and when she was about twenty-two years of age, became the mistress of Count Jean du Barry ; and her little supper parties were soon rendered famous for their elegance, and for the brilliant company which attended them. How she first became acquainted with Louis XV has never transpired, but, on the death of Madame du Pompadour, she became mistress to the King, a position which was officially recognised in France under the old regime, as one of the "charges" of the Court. In this equivocal station, although she acquired enorijious wealth, which she squandered in riotous living, nevertheless she abstained from mingling in politics, and, probably for this reason, after the death of Louis XV, she enjoyed a certain amount of popularity, and was permitted to live in peace through the early years of the Great Revolution, at the little Chateau of Louvecienne at the gates of Versailles. She did not, however, forget her traditions of gallantry, and appointed as successor to the King, her late "husband" as she was pleased to call him, Edmund Seymour, a nephew of the Duke of Somerset. To him she wrote a number of ardent and charming love-letters which are still in existence. A quarrel separated the lovers, and, in 1788, Madame du Barry was living openly with the Due de Brissac, Governor of [ 56 ] \ 4 \ Paris, who was massacred among the prisoners who were transferred from Orleans to Paris. His head was thrown over the wall of her garden. At about this time an enormous quantity of jewels belonging to her were stolen by English thieves and taken by them to London. Unfortunately, the publicity given to this robbery, and the immense value of the property stolen, attracted the malevolent attention of the Revolutionary Tribunal, and Madame du Barry was arrested on her return from her fourth journey to London to recover them, in July, 1793. After a trial, in which she was treacherously denounced by her servants as guilty of aiding with money and influence Royalist emigrants, this unfortunate woman was condemned to death and guillotined early in December, 1 793. With many faults, Madame du Barry was amiable, charitable, and agreeable. She was one of the most beautiful women of her time. Her hair was fair, her eyes were perfectly blue, her complexion dazzling, and she had great charm, of manner, besides a voice which was music itself. Madame du Barry, who was exceedingly well received by the English aristocracy, was painted in miniature by Cosway, to whose studio she was taken by the, then. Duchess of Rutland. This lovely miniature has been frequently engraved. Madame du Barry was a discriminating patroness of art, and gives her name to a peculiar shade of rose- coloured Sevres of great value, and still bearing the name " Rose du Barry." [ 57 ] " DOVES." By JEAN BAPTisTE GREUZE, born 1725, died 1805. The property of captain g. l. holford. THIS picture, appropriately called " Doves," gives us the presentment evidently of two of the gentlest of creatures, but the identity of the fair girl is as little known as is that of the pretty bird she /ondles. [ 58 ] "THE LISTENER." A By JEAN BAPTiSTE GREUZE, born 1725, died 1805. The property of lord Arthur wellesley. NOTHER lovely girl of whose existence we have no record, but whose beauty, thanks to the painter's art, charms us still. ft [ 60 ] MRS. JORDAN. By THOMAS GAINSBOROUGH, R.A., born 1 727, died 1788. The property of the earl of northbrook. THIS charming actress made her first appearance at Dublin as Phoebe, in "As you like it." Her real name, it seems, was Frances Bland, and she was born in Waterford about the year 1762. Although never married, she assumed the title of Mrs. Jordan in 1782, when she made her first appearance on the English stage at York, as Calista in "The Fair Penitent." In 1785, she took London by storm at Drury Lane, as Peggy in "The Country Girl." When she first made the acquaintance of the Duke of Clarence, afterwards King William IV, she was living under the protection of a Mr. Ford, who had refused to marry her for fear of offending his father. Indignant at such a pretext, Mrs. Jordan threw him over for the Royal Duke, with whom she lived in perfect harmony until the connection was broken off in 181 1. Everybody has heard of the affecting story of her reception of the news that, for political reasons, the Duke was about to sever his relations with her, notwithstanding that she had borne him ten children. She was playing " Nell " at the Cheltenham Theatre at the time, and had been throughout the day greatly weakened by a succession of fainting fits. She, however, struggled on with her part until Johnstone arrived at the passage where he has to accuse the Conjurer of making her laughing drunk. When the actress here attempted to laugh, the afflicted woman burst into tears, and Johnstone with great presence of mind altered the text and exclaimed to her, "Why Nell, the Conjurer has not only made [ 62 ] thee drunk, he has made thee crying drunk," thus covering her personal distress, and carrying her through the scene in character. The people took warmly to heart the sorrows of their favourite actress, and, when a few years later, the news became known that she had died in distressful circumstances, the indignation was universal, albeit William IV was not quite so much to blame in the matter as he was then believed to have been. ;^4,ooo a year had been settled upon the lady and her children on the condition that she left the stage. This she refused to do, and she separated herself from her family to continue her professional engagements, but she had involved herself in such a number of liabilities that she was obliged to leave England and retire to St. Cloud, near Paris, where she died in 1816. As an actress, she seems to have been surpassingly charming ; her face, voice and laugh were irresistible, and, as Haslett expresses it, " she had her heart in her mouth." She was all gaiety, openness, and good- nature. Off the stage Mrs. Jordan was no less popular on account of her great kindness of heart and generosity. [ 63 ] LADY PRISCILLA BERTIE, AFTERWARDS BARONESS WILLOUGHBY DE ERESBY. By JOHN SAUNDERS, bom 1750. The property of f. g. prange, esq. THIS lady, who was distinguished in her lifetime for her charming face and graceful manners, was the first female Great Chamberlain of England. She was the daughter of Peregrine, third Duke of Ancaster. On the death of her brother, the fourth Duke, she became Baroness Willoughby d'Eresby in her own right, and, with her sister, Lady Georgina, joint hereditary Great Chamberlain of England, which, needless to say, was rather an empty honour, although it occasionally offered scope for witticisms in which Lady Priscilla was the first to take her share. Her ladyship married Sir Peter Burrell, first Lord Gwydr, and she died in 1828. [ 64 ] ELIZA FARREN, AFTERWARDS COUNTESS OF DERBY. By SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A., bom 1 769, died 1830. The property of the earl of wilton. ELIZA FARREN, Countess of Derby, was a lady of whom it may well be said " She was an ornament to her profession and her sex." She was the daughter of an Irish surgeon, who, failing in his profession, became a provincial actor, and died young, leaving his family in destitute circumstances. Eliza, who was a mere child, resolved to assist her mother and brothers and sisters by hard study and work, and, at the age of fourteen, she appeared at Liverpool as Miss Hardcastle, in " She stoops to conquer," with great success. Two years later she came to Drury Lane and Covent Garden, and eventually filled the position left vacant by Mrs. Abingdon, and played with great ecldt all the parts associated with the name of that celebrated actress. It was Miss Farren who delivered the epilogue written for the occasion by Colman, on the re-opening of Drury Lane in 1794. She was so great a favourite at this time, not only on the stage, but in society, that she was requested by the Duke of Newcastle to superintend the theatricals he was getting up at his house in Privy Gardens, in which Lord Derby, Lord Henry Fitzgerald, Charles Fox, Lord John Townsend, and the Hon. Mrs. Damer were engaged. Lord Derby fell in love with the accomplished actress, who, however, refused to hear of his addresses at the time, his wife, from whom he had been long separated, being still living. A year after this lady's [ 66 ] death, in 1797, however, Miss Farren granted Lord Derby her hand. She was immediately received at Court, and became a great favourite with George III and Queen Charlotte. The Countess of Derby died full of years and honours in 1829, one year, by the way, previous to the great artist whose work is here reproduced. [ 67 ] MISS GEORGINA LENNOX, AFTERWARDS COUNTESS BATHURST. By SIR THOMAS LAWRENCE, P.R.A., bom 1 769, died 1830. The property of earl bathurst. THE daughter of Lord George Lennox; married in 1789 to Henry, third Earl Bathurst, K.G. Died 1841. [ 68 ] 4 LADY CAROLINE BEAUCLERK. English School (probably by stewardson, a pupil of George Romney). The property of the duke of st. albans. LADY CAROLINE BEAUCLERK " inherited," and we can J easily believe it, after contemplating this lovely picture, " the beauty of the Beauclerks," which, doubtless, is derived from that enchantress of the seventeenth century, Nell Gwynne, their common ancestress. Is it not likely too, that the peculiar grace and elegance which is one of the chief attractions of this fine work, is also derived from the great-grandson of Mary Stuart, Charles II? Lady Caroline married the Hon. Charles Dundas in 1797, and she died at a good old age in 1838. [ 70 ] CHARLOTTE LEGGE, LADY FEVERSHAM. ADY CHARLOTTE LEGGE was the daughter of William I second Earl of Dartmouth, and was one of the most fascinating and beautiful women of the time. As the wife of the handsome Charles Duncombe, first Lord Feversham, she was a social celebrity, without whose presence no fete in the great world of the last century was complete. She is the immediate ancestress of the three celebrated beauties of our own day — the Duchess of Leinster, Lady Helen Vincent, and Lady Cynthia Graham. By JOHN HOPPNER, K.A., bom 1758, died 18 10. The property of the earl of Dartmouth. [ 72 ] MRS. GRACE DALRYMPLE ELLIOTT. RACE DALRYMPLE was the daughter of a celebrated V T Edinburgh Advocate, Hew Dalrymple. She married in 1771, Doctor, afterwards Sir John ElHott, an eminent Physician. The love seems to have been all on his side, for in 1774 she eloped with Lord Valentia, Sir John, however, obtaining the substantial sum of 1 2,000 in damages. The Prince of Wales, Sir George Selwyn, Charles Wyndham and Lord Cholmondely may all be said to have sighed for her and not in vain. The Prince introduced her to the Duke of Orleans (Philippe P^galite) and France became the country of her adoption. She lived in Paris all thro' the Revolution, and indeed was only saved from the Guillotine by the sudden overthrow of Robespierre. Her after life was less adventurous, but more in accordance with the proprieties, and she died peaceably in a suburb of Paris at the age of sixty-three. [ 74 ] APHRODITE. By p. H. CALDERON, R.A. f The property of sir Bernard samuelson, bart., m.p. " And the wonderful waters knew her, the winds and the viewless ways, And the roses grew rosier and bluer, the sea blue stream of the bays." [ 76 ] THE LOVE BIRDS. By A, STUART-WORTLEY. The property of mrs. a. stuart-wortley. HIS very charming work tells its own story. A beautiful young girl, in the graceful female costume of the present day, is seen caressing two love birds, whose bright green feathers contrast admirably with the tints of her own dress. It is a singularly attractive picture, and, doubtless, a hundred years hence it will be as much admired, as is to-day many a similar likeness of an incognita, distinguished only by the birds or flowers grouped in the same frame as her lovely presentment, which some great master of a former age has left to excite our curiosity and fascinate our imagination. [ 78 ] COUNTESS SOMERS. (Study in Chalk.) By G. F. WATTS, ESQ., R.A. The property of sir henry princep. EVERYONE knows Lady Somers, so popular in London society for her still remarkable beauty, her charm of manner, and her innumerable amiable qualities. Her Ladyship was the daughter of James Pattle, Esq., of the Bengal Civil Service, and was married on the 2nd of October, 1850, to the late Charles Somers, third Earl. She is the mother of Adeline, Duchess of Bedford, and of Lady Henry Somerset, one of the most ardent advocates of temperance, and brilliant female orators of our time. [ 80 ] 4 GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 3 3125 01045 8368 1