Penelope (Rycroft) Lee Acton

Maker George Romney (British, 1734-1802)

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

Collections

Grand Manner Portraiture

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

Status

On view

Label TextThough painted on the happy occasion of her marriage, this portrait of Penelope Lee Acton has a somber undercurrent. Penelope emerges from a dark, wooded landscape on the right to a brightly illuminated clearing on the left but her backward glance suggests a halt in her momentum, as if making a regretful departure.

Bibliography

British paintings at the Huntington

Object number16.1