Portrait of Miss Pollock in a White Dress
Maker
Sir William Beechey
(British, 1753 - 1839)
ClassificationsPAINTINGS
Dateca. 1800
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionscanvas: 50 × 40 in. (127 × 101.6 cm.)
frame: 58 × 48 in. (147.3 × 121.9 cm.)
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of Mary Ann and John Sturgeon
Label TextIn this portrait, a young woman wearing an elegant white gown sits in a wooded landscape with a sketchbook on her lap. Drawing was considered an appropriate activity for upper class women, who would have received instruction at home, through a tutor or a drawing master. Knowledge of art and cultivation of some amateur skill were considered markers of a young woman's refinement. Women of the lower classes, who had to work, could not afford the time or money for drawing lessons. With a simple clue like this, the artist signals his sitter's place within society.Status
On viewObject number2022.5
