Portrait miniature: Possibly Elizabeth Linley by Richard Cosway, watercolour on ivory, c.1790.

Museum number

1992.5

Object

Portrait miniature: Possibly Elizabeth Linley by Richard Cosway, watercolour on ivory, c.1790.

Description

Elizabeth Linley, Mrs. Brinsley Sheridan(?) (1754-1792) Oval.The sitter is shown in profile to the left against a cloud and sky background. Her hair is loosely arranged and falls over her shoulders. She wears a white dress. Profile portraits by Cosway are not common. The present miniature is a very good example of his work from c1790.Elizabeth Linley was born in Bath, the eldest surviving child of a musical family of which she was the most attractive and arguably the most talented member. The combination of her looks (most notably recorded in the portraits of her by Gainsborough) and her voice 'of indescribable sweetness' with an angelic nature accounts for the almost mythic reputation she achieved within her short lifetime. In 1772 she eloped with the the young Richard Brinsley Sheridan(1751-1816) and her marriage to him in1773 marked the end of her professional singing career. The portrait of Mrs Sheridan as St. Cecilia (Waddesdon Manor, National Trust) by Sir Joshua Reynolds gave visual expression to an identification of the singer with the saint which had been widespread since her girlhood. The profile pose and uplifted eyes of the sitter in the present miniature suggest an allusion to the same conceit.The reverse of the miniature has a fine hair arrangement with the conjoined initials 'H.C.' against a background of mother-of-pearl. Although the portrait is very close to a recorded miniature of Mrs. Sheridan by Cosway (G.C.Williamson Richard Cosway R A 1905 facing p. 52) the presence of these initials 'H.C. cast doubt on this identification.The frame is filigree with paste ornaments.

Materials

Ivory

Inscription

Labels on the back of the miniature are inscribed 'Mrs. Brinsley Sheridan' and '509A' respectively.

On display?

Yes

Further description

Simple name

Miniature

Subject

Portrait

Dimensions

framed: 6.0000cm (h) x 5.2000cm (w)
regular: 5.2cm (h) x 5.6cm (w)