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Mrs Thomas Linley

Lonsdale, James1820

Dulwich Picture Gallery

Dulwich Picture Gallery
London, United Kingdom

In her youth "reckoned beautiful" and possessed of a charming singing voice, Mary Johnson (1729-1820) married Thomas Linley the elder in 1752. The marriage produced twelve children, but Mrs Linley saw all but two die before her and outlived her husband by 25 years. She was already in her late 80s when Lonsdale painted this portrait of her.

The portrait obviously flatters the sitter and the brown curls peeping under the bonnet are not her own, but Mrs Linley undoubtedly had an excellent constitution. Contemporaries recorded her strong character, her devotion to her family and her vulgar and penny-pinching ways, which often embarrassed her more socially distinguished offspring.

Details

  • Title: Mrs Thomas Linley
  • Creator Lifespan: 1777 - 1839
  • Date: 1820
  • Physical Dimensions: w635 x h765 cm
  • Type: Painting
  • Medium: Oil
  • Work Nationality: British
  • Support: Canvas
  • Provenance: Bath, Linley family; bequethed to DPG by William Linley, 1835.
  • Further Information: As a young man Lonsdale was encouraged as an artist by the Duke of Hamilton. In 1799 he came to London to study with Romney and at the RA Schools. This painting was exhibited at the RA in 1820, shortly after the sitter's death at the age of 91.
  • Artist: Lonsdale, James
  • Acquisition Method: Linley, William (Bequest, 1835)

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