Elizabeth Farren (born about 1759, died 1829), Later Countess of Derby1790
The celebrated comic actress Elizabeth Farren turns to look at us as she walks through a windswept landscape, wrapped in a white silk cloak lined with fur and carrying a muff. More about this work
About this work
The celebrated comic actress Elizabeth Farren turns to look at us as she walks through a windswept landscape, wrapped in a white silk cloak lined with fur and carrying a muff. Thomas Lawrence, then only twenty-one, showed the portrait at the Royal Academy in 1790, where its brilliance and freshness caused a sensation and marked him as the heir to Reynolds. The actress later married the Earl of Derby. The quick, sparkling brushwork of the silk and the airy landscape give the image its vivacity.
Written by Ochre Editions.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
Thomas Lawrence
English, 1769–1830 · Born in Bristol; died in London.
Lawrence was a child prodigy in pastel portraiture and largely self-taught. He moved to London as a teenager, exhibited a full-length of Queen Charlotte at the Royal Academy at twenty-one, and succeeded Joshua Reynolds as Painter in Ordinary to George III. After 1815 the Prince Regent commissioned him to paint the leaders of the alliance against Napoleon for the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle. He became President of the Royal Academy in 1820 and was the leading portraitist of his day.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 50.135.5
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Paintings
- Department
- European Paintings
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
