Portrait of Amelia Hume, later Lady Farnborough (1772-1837), half-length, in a white and black dress with a wide-brimmed hat

Recently rediscovered, this spirited portrait depicts the celebrated amateur artist Amelia Long, née Hume, daughter of renowned collector Sir Abraham Hume and Amelia Egerton, at Wormleybury, Hertfordshire. According to Reynold’s Ledgers, Sir Abraham commissioned the artist to paint his daughter’s portrait for the sum of fifty guineas (M. Cormack, 'The Ledgers of Sir Joshua Reynolds', The Walpole Society, 1970, p. 156), with no fewer than eleven sittings taking place between 1787-9. In 1793, Amelia married Charles Long (1761-1838), who was created 1st Baron Farnborough in 1826.

Lady Farnborough was an accomplished painter, watercolourist and printmaker, with a keen interest in horticulture. Her preferred medium was watercolour however, and it was in this field that her contributions were most notable. She studied under Thomas Girtin, of whom her husband was a loyal patron, and was reportedly his favourite pupil; under his influence, her work was broadly topographical and muted in tone. In 1801, the Longs settled at Bromley Hill Place in Kent; under Amelia’s direction, the grounds were transformed into elegant gardens, expansive lawns, picturesque walkways and winding waterways, which served as infinite subject matter for her work.

Strongly respected by her peers, she gained honorary exhibitor status at the Royal Academy (1807-22), and the British Institution (1825). Today, her contribution to early English watercolour painting is well-recognised, and her works are held in numerous eminent institutions including the Tate, the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the National Galleries of Scotland.

Until the rediscovery of the present work, a copy held by the National Trust at Belton House, Lincolnshire, was tentatively listed as the prime version of the portrait in David Manning’s catalogue raisonné (op. cit., p. 270, no. 966), who noted its poor condition and expressed doubts regarding its status. At the time of publication, the present work remained untraced, and was thus listed under ‘Copies’. Upon its re-emergence however, its superiority in comparison to the Belton picture was immediately evident, and it can thus be reinstated as the prime version by Reynolds himself, painted on commission for Sir Abraham Hume (Martin Postle, written communication, November 2023). The Belton copy was likely painted for Amelia’s younger sister Sophia, who married John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow; Belton House descended through the Brownlow baronetcy until its acquisition by the National Trust in 1984.