Penelope (Rycroft) Lee Acton

Maker George Romney (British, 1734-1802)

SitterSitter: Penelope (Rycroft) Lee Acton (British, 1764 - 1819)

Collections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Date1791

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions93 3/4 x 58 1/4 in. (238.1 x 148 cm.)

DescriptionIn this full-length portrait, the sitter, Penelope (Rycroft) Lee Acton, is standing right of center wearing a white dress with long, tight sleeves, and full skirt, edged and hemmed with pleated ribbon. The portrait was commissioned by the spouse of Penelope, Nathaniel Lee Acton, to commemorate their marriage in 1791.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Label TextThough painted on the happy occasion of her marriage, this portrait of Penelope Lee Acton has a somber undercurrent. The portrait’s solemn tone may reflect the sensibilities of the sitter, a minister’s daughter, and of the widower she had just married, Nathaniel Lee Acton. Penelope emerges from a dark, wooded landscape on the right to a brightly illuminated clearing on the left. The progressive movement of her step and the sloping horizon line seem to propel her forward, but her backward glance suggests a halt in her momentum, as if making a regretful departure. The note of ambivalence is particularly affecting in a portrait commemorating the transition from one stage of life to another.

Status

On view

Object number16.1