Portrait of Mary Elizabeth Hall (1908-1969)

Sir Gerald Kelly painted Mary's portrait in 1922 when she was nearly 14 years old, presumably as a companion piece to a portrait of her sister Joan painted two years' earlier. An impatient sitter, Mary refused to stay and have her legs painted, so Kelly's wife stood in to complete the commission. The original full-length picture was 76 inches high and 36 inches wide and depicts a confident young girl in a velvet dress with a wide-legged stance. However, Mary was not impressed by the result, and deeming the legs imposters, cut off the majority of the canvas leaving us with this beautifully sensitive bust-length portrait.