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Unfinished Portrait of an Unknown Lady
Unfinished Portrait of an Unknown Lady
Unfinished Portrait of an Unknown Lady

Photo credit: Simon Gillespie Studio

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Notes

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This portrait originated from the collection of Glasgow coachbuilder Archibald McLellan (1795–1854), a prolific collector of Italian, Dutch, Flemish and British art, who bequeathed 510 paintings to the Corporation of Glasgow in 1854, along with his Sauchiehall Street gallery. This painting was thought to depict the famous soprano singer, poet, writer, Whig supporter and member of the Blue Stockings Society, Elizabeth Ann Linley (1754–1793), who married playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816). Renowned for her beauty, she was painted by Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds and Richard Samuel. However, the identity of the sitter is now uncertain. Doubt was cast on the portrait’s likeness by a descendent, the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, in a letter from 8 March 1897: ‘I have great doubts as to whether the portrait is really that of Miss Linley, as it differs so much from her appearance as represented in Sir Joshua’s St Cecilia and in Gainsborough’s portrait.

Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC)

Title

Unfinished Portrait of an Unknown Lady

Date

c.1770

Medium

oil on mahogany panel

Measurements

H 74.9 x W 62.2 cm

Accession number

253

Acquisition method

Archibald McLellan Collection, purchased, 1856

Work type

Painting

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Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC)

200 Woodhead Road, South Nitshill Industrial Estate, Glasgow G53 7NN Scotland

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