Mary Bootle, Mrs Wilbraham-Bootle (died 1813)
About this artwork
By 1780, despite intense competition from his older contemporary Sir Joshua Reynolds, Romney’s portraits were highly fashionable. Mary Bootle, inherited Lathom House and estate, Lancashire from her father Robert Bootle, four-time Director of the East India Company. After marrying her husband, Richard Wilbraham-Bootle M.P., in 1755, the couple regularly commissioned Romney to paint family portraits. This companion portrait from 1781, showcases Romney’s characteristic sensitivity to the surface qualities of skin, hair and fabric. Mary appears poised, looking out beyond the frame towards the accompanying portrait of her husband, now in the collection of the Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, Connecticut.
Updated before 2020
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artist:George Romney (1734 - 1802) English
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title:Mary Bootle, Mrs Wilbraham-Bootle (died 1813)
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date created:1781
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:123.90 x 99.70 cm; Framed: 140.50 x 116.00 x 6.50 cm / 16.00 kg
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased with the aid of the Cowan Smith Bequest Fund 1927
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accession number:NG 1674
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gallery:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
George Romney
George Romney
Romney was born in Dalton-on-Furness, the son of a cabinet-maker. He was apprenticed for two years to a travelling portrait painter, Christopher Steele. After working independently in Kendal and Lancaster, Romney moved to London in 1762, hoping to become a history painter. This was unrealistic...
