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拍品专文
Painted between 1776 and 1778, this elegant half-length portrait depicts Elizabeth Cumberland, daughter of the dramatist and diplomat Richard Cumberland (1732-1811), and the wife of Lord Edward Charles Bentinck (1744-1819), second son of the 2nd Duke of Portland.
A family anecdote, recounted by Major-General Cumberland and relayed by Ward and Roberts in their 1904 catalogue raisonné, claims that Romney while visiting the Cumberland household, saw Elizabeth trying on a white-ribboned hat and immediately insisted on painting her in it (Ward and Roberts, op. cit., p. 30). While its historical veracity remains uncertain, the story aligns with the picture’s subsequent influence: it marked the genesis of Romney’s celebrated type of half-lengths featuring women in broad-brimmed hats, casting shadows across the upper face. As Kidson notes, the subtle blue stroke at the lower right may suggest the sea, visually linking this portrait to Romney’s contemporaneous likeness of Richard Cumberland (Kidson, 2015, op. cit., p. 163, no. 318).
As recorded by Alex Kidson, Elizabeth sat to Romney no fewer than twenty-one times between 8 November 1776 and 2 December 1778. A further five appointments for ‘Miss Cumberland’ appear in Romney’s sitter books over the next three years; however, these are more likely to refer to her younger sister Sophia, since John Raphael Smith’s mezzotint after the present portrait was published on 10 September 1779, making the December 1778 sittings the last plausibly associated with this work (Kidson, 2015, loc. cit.). The sequence of sittings was irregular: two initial appointments in November 1776; six, scattered between February and May 1777; a hiatus of nearly a year; five sittings in May and June 1778; and a final cluster of seven in November and December 1778. The pattern suggests that Romney may have struggled with the composition—perhaps due to the sitter’s penchant for changing attire, a challenge not uncommon when painting young women of fashion (ibid.).
As with Romney’s portraits of Sophia Cumberland and of Elizabeth’s sister-in-law Albinia (ibid., nos. 323 and 660), no payment is recorded. In April 1787, Romney presented the completed work to the sitter, and had William Saunders, his most trusted framer, provide the frame (ibid).
Having trained under Christopher Steele in his native Cumbria, Romney moved to London in 1763 and began practicing as an independent portraitist. After a period of study in Italy, between 1772 and 1775, the artist returned to London and established himself as one of the most fashionable portrait painters of the period. His sitters, who included numerous important members of London society, were depicted with a sensitivity and elegance, qualities that are exemplified perfectly in the present portrait.
A family anecdote, recounted by Major-General Cumberland and relayed by Ward and Roberts in their 1904 catalogue raisonné, claims that Romney while visiting the Cumberland household, saw Elizabeth trying on a white-ribboned hat and immediately insisted on painting her in it (Ward and Roberts, op. cit., p. 30). While its historical veracity remains uncertain, the story aligns with the picture’s subsequent influence: it marked the genesis of Romney’s celebrated type of half-lengths featuring women in broad-brimmed hats, casting shadows across the upper face. As Kidson notes, the subtle blue stroke at the lower right may suggest the sea, visually linking this portrait to Romney’s contemporaneous likeness of Richard Cumberland (Kidson, 2015, op. cit., p. 163, no. 318).
As recorded by Alex Kidson, Elizabeth sat to Romney no fewer than twenty-one times between 8 November 1776 and 2 December 1778. A further five appointments for ‘Miss Cumberland’ appear in Romney’s sitter books over the next three years; however, these are more likely to refer to her younger sister Sophia, since John Raphael Smith’s mezzotint after the present portrait was published on 10 September 1779, making the December 1778 sittings the last plausibly associated with this work (Kidson, 2015, loc. cit.). The sequence of sittings was irregular: two initial appointments in November 1776; six, scattered between February and May 1777; a hiatus of nearly a year; five sittings in May and June 1778; and a final cluster of seven in November and December 1778. The pattern suggests that Romney may have struggled with the composition—perhaps due to the sitter’s penchant for changing attire, a challenge not uncommon when painting young women of fashion (ibid.).
As with Romney’s portraits of Sophia Cumberland and of Elizabeth’s sister-in-law Albinia (ibid., nos. 323 and 660), no payment is recorded. In April 1787, Romney presented the completed work to the sitter, and had William Saunders, his most trusted framer, provide the frame (ibid).
Having trained under Christopher Steele in his native Cumbria, Romney moved to London in 1763 and began practicing as an independent portraitist. After a period of study in Italy, between 1772 and 1775, the artist returned to London and established himself as one of the most fashionable portrait painters of the period. His sitters, who included numerous important members of London society, were depicted with a sensitivity and elegance, qualities that are exemplified perfectly in the present portrait.