Frances (Woodis) Borlase, later Frances Grenfell, and Pascoe George Norman Grenfell

Maker Martin Archer Shee (British, 1769-1850)

SitterSitter: Frances (Woodis) Borlase, later Frances Grenfell (British, 1769 - 1851)

SitterSitter: Pascoe George Norman Grenfell (British, 1798 - 1830)

Collections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca.1804

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions93 7/8 x 58 in. (238.4 x 147.3 cm.)

DescriptionBoth standing full-length on the steps of a terrace, turned three-quarters left. The mother, right of center, has her head turned full-face and her left foot forward; her left hand, by her side, holds the scarf which swathes her arm; her right, at shoulder level, holds back her lace mantilla. The boy, left of center, looks up at his mother, high right foot advanced, his right arm outstretched, a high-crowned hat in his hand. His raised left arm passes behind his mother. She has red-brown hair, covered by a white mantilla, dark-blue eyes, and fresh complexion, and wears a white Empire robe, a sky-blue gauze scarf, coral bracelets, a pearl earring, and a biscuit-colored shoe. Her son has brown hair and blue eyes, and wears a red coat with frilled white collar, a light-brown sash, and buff trousers, white socks, and black shoes. In the right background a column and pilaster against a scarlet curtain; left, a wooded glade with water and a glimpse of blue sky and distant landscape. Two scarlet poppies in the left background.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Label TextFrances Borlase is presented in an alluring manner that seems to belie her role as a mother. Gazing out from beneath the shadows of her curling hair and enveloping scarf, she establishes an intimate rapport with the viewer. In painting his sitter’s lips parted slightly to reveal a subtle flash of white teeth, the artist makes a striking break with established portrait conventions. The relaxation of propriety may relate to the unusual circumstances of this commission. Shee’s patron was most likely William Grenfell, the father of three of Frances Borlase’s children, but not yet her husband. Shee focuses on Grenfell’s future wife’s beauty instead of her unconventional family arrangements.

Status

Not on view

Object number20.4