Portrait of Lady Rodney [née Anne Harley]

Currently not on view

Portrait of Lady Rodney [née Anne Harley]

1778

Thomas Gainsborough (English, 1727–1788)

The subject of this portrait is Anne Harley, daughter of a former lord mayor of London. In April 1781 she married the eldest son of the naval hero Lord Rodney. It has been suggested that the portrait was painted some months after the marriage, and that Anne's delicate gesture of lifting her train to her stomach signals pregnancy and deep contentment at approaching motherhood.

Currently not on view

Object Details

Title:

Portrait of Lady Rodney [née Anne Harley]

Date:

1778

Artist:

Thomas Gainsborough (English, 1727–1788)

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

50 1/4 × 39 7/8 inches (127.6 × 101.3 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

The John Howard McFadden Collection, 1928

Accession Number:

M1928-1-8

Geography:

Made in Great Britain, Europe

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Currently not on view