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Lot Essay
Painted in 1770-71, not long after Reynolds had been made the first President of the Royal Academy in 1768 and received a knighthood in 1769, the present work is a lively and confident portrait painted at the height of the artist's career.
The pose of the upper part of the figure is very similar to Reynolds's earlier picture of Lady Charlotte Johnstone (daughter of George Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax); this led to the confusion of this picture being wrongly identified in the Brett sale of 1838 (D. Mannings, op. cit.). The sitter is, in fact, Ann, daughter of Amos Meredith of Henbury, Cheshire, who married Barlow Trecothick in 1770. Trecothick succeeded William Beckford as Lord Mayor of London at the latter's death on 21 June 1770. This portrait may have been painted to celebrate both the marriage of Ann and Barlow Trecothick, and his appointment as Lord Mayor. Mrs. Trecothick sat to Reynolds in July and August 1770 as 'Lady Mayoress', and in November 1770, and March 1771, as 'Mrs. Trecothick'. The picture was paid for in two instalments of 75 guineas on 27 November 1771 and 6 March 1775.
The pose and costume in the present work highlight Reynolds's flair for theatrical presentation and idealisation of his subjects. The sitter is wearing a white dress, with a plum coloured sash and flowers at her breast. She also wears a red silk cloak, lined with ermine, and matching red slippers. The costume is influenced by 'Turkish' masquerade dress, and appears to have been an actual garment accurately observed; 'the skirt is lifted up on one side as though to reveal an underskirt, a feature reminiscent of the dress of the early 18th century portraits of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu' (Aileen Ribiero, quoted in D. Mannings, op. cit.).
Mrs. Trecothick married again in 1777, to Asheton Curzon, later Lord Curzon. She died on 13 June 1804.
The pose of the upper part of the figure is very similar to Reynolds's earlier picture of Lady Charlotte Johnstone (daughter of George Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax); this led to the confusion of this picture being wrongly identified in the Brett sale of 1838 (D. Mannings, op. cit.). The sitter is, in fact, Ann, daughter of Amos Meredith of Henbury, Cheshire, who married Barlow Trecothick in 1770. Trecothick succeeded William Beckford as Lord Mayor of London at the latter's death on 21 June 1770. This portrait may have been painted to celebrate both the marriage of Ann and Barlow Trecothick, and his appointment as Lord Mayor. Mrs. Trecothick sat to Reynolds in July and August 1770 as 'Lady Mayoress', and in November 1770, and March 1771, as 'Mrs. Trecothick'. The picture was paid for in two instalments of 75 guineas on 27 November 1771 and 6 March 1775.
The pose and costume in the present work highlight Reynolds's flair for theatrical presentation and idealisation of his subjects. The sitter is wearing a white dress, with a plum coloured sash and flowers at her breast. She also wears a red silk cloak, lined with ermine, and matching red slippers. The costume is influenced by 'Turkish' masquerade dress, and appears to have been an actual garment accurately observed; 'the skirt is lifted up on one side as though to reveal an underskirt, a feature reminiscent of the dress of the early 18th century portraits of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu' (Aileen Ribiero, quoted in D. Mannings, op. cit.).
Mrs. Trecothick married again in 1777, to Asheton Curzon, later Lord Curzon. She died on 13 June 1804.