Terms and conditions of use
Rachel, Lady Beaumont
(1808)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
214.3 × 136.1 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1955
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
This secretary bookcase in the Neoclassical style is veneered with satinwood imported from the West Indies. The refined features of the cabinet, the play on rectangular forms which project and recede, the use of the oval motif, and the elegantly carved scrollwork and vase pediments are all indications that this cabinet was made by a leading London workshop. It has traditionally been associated with Lady Emma Hamilton, wife of Sir William Hamilton, and is reputed to have come from their villa in Naples.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed in black paint (in a later hand) l.l.: Rachel Lady Beaumont / Aged 91_ _ Born 1718. Died March 9th
Accession Number
3267-4
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Portraits
Subjects (specific)
dog (species) elderly fur garments nobles (aristocrats) seated figures women (female humans)
Provenance
Collection of the sitter until her death, 1814; by descent to Lady Beaumont's son, Sir George Howland Beaumont (1753–1827), 7th Baronet, Coleorton Hall, Coleorton, Leicestershire, 1814-27; remained with the Beaumont family, Coleorton Hall, until 1955; with Colnaghi (dealer), London, 1955; from where purchased, for the Felton Bequest, 1955.
Exhibited Royal Academy, London, 1809, no. 78