Isabella, Viscountess Molyneux, later Countess of Sefton

Isabella Stanhope (about 1748 - 1819) sat for Gainsborough in Bath early in 1769, shortly after her marriage to Viscount Molyneux. Gainsborough had just been elected to the Royal Academy in London, and this work, sent soon afterwards to its first-ever exhibition, seems a deliberate effort to impress a London audience.

The figure is highly poiseed. The play of light and shade on the satiny surface of her dress shows off the artist's skill in virtuoso painting.

Shortly after the painting was finished, Stanhope's husband was made the 1st Earl of Sefton. This portrait hung at the Seftons' seat, Croxteth Hall near Liverpool, for two centuries until its acquisition by the Walker Art Gallery.