Penelope (Pitt), Viscountess Ligonier

Maker Thomas Gainsborough (British, 1727-1788)

SitterSitter: Penelope (Pitt), Viscountess Ligonier (British, born 1749)

Collections

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Date1770

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions94 1/2 x 61 3/4 in. (240 x 156.8 cm.)

DescriptionLady Ligonier is portrayed in full-length standing at center on a terrace. She leans her left elbow on a carved pedestal supporting a bronze dancing nymph. In the background is a deep-rose curtain disclosing a clouded sky and wooded landscape.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

On view

Label TextArtistic tools and sculptures surround Lady Ligonier, suggesting her cultural sophistication. However, beyond this aspect of refinement, Gainsborough has represented Lady Ligonier, with her hip thrust outward, in a pose of great self-confidence and with more swagger than her husband, whose companion portrait hangs nearby.

Bibliography

British paintings at the Huntington

Object number11.29