Jane Mowat (née Ewart)

By the time of this commission, John Ewart’s daughter Jane (1824 – 1893) had been four years the wife of Oliver Mowat (1820–1903), lawyer and, eventually, Premier of Ontario. Hamel, who opened a studio in Toronto while the government of the Province of Canada was here, has clearly enjoyed painting Mrs. Mowat. He revels in the contrast in texture between her porcelain skin and her fur-trimmed cape.