Portrait of Catherine Grey, Lady Manners

oil on canvasThomas Lawrence (British, 1769–1830)/1794

Description

The Irish poet Lady Manners rejected as “unflattering” this portrait representing her as the goddess Juno, symbolized here by the peacock. Thomas Lawrence exhibited the painting at the Royal Academy in 1794 with the label “to be disposed of [sold],” but it was still in the artist’s collection when he died. Though it offended Lady Manners, the painting displays all the hallmarks of Lawrence’s flamboyant style:dazzling, fluid brushwork and an innovative use of unconventional colors that helped secure his role as the most fashionable portrait painter in turn-of-the-century Britain.

Provenance

property of the artist, Sir Thomas Lawrence [1769-1830]; (Christie's, London Sir Thomas Lawrence sale, June 18, 1831, no. 147, purchased by Samuel Woodburn); Samuel Woodburn; sold to Frederick John Fifth Baron Monson; Frederick John, Fifth Baron Monson [died 1841], and his heirs, Gatton Park, Surrey; sold at Christie's, London; (Christie's, London, May 12, 1888, no. 21, sold to Davis); Davis; William, Fifth Earl of Carysfort; Lady Carysfort; by descent to her nephew Douglas James Proby; Colonel Douglas James Proby, Elton Hall, Huntingdonshire; (Duveen Brothers); Jules S. Bach, New York; John D. Rockefeller, Jr. [1874-1960]; by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Dimensions

255.3 × 158 cm

Source

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Movement / Period

European Painting and Sculpture

Accession No

1961.220

Official Citations

[The Cleveland Museum of Art Official Record][Full Resolution Image]

Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of Thomas Lawrence (British, 1769–1830)

European Painting and Sculpture • England, 18th century • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries

Continuous Discovery