Portrait of Amelia Opie
| Portrait of Amelia Opie | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | John Opie |
| Year | 1798 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, portrait |
| Dimensions | 74.3 cm × 62.6 cm (29.3 in × 24.6 in) |
| Location | National Portrait Gallery, London |
Portrait of Amelia Opie is an oil on canvas portrait painting by the British artist John Opie, from 1798. It is a depiction of his wife, Amelia Opie, a noted writer and abolitionist.[1]
History and description
It was painted the year the couple married.[2] She is shown at half-length, dressed in white, looking directly at the viewer, and with her straw hat in her hands. She is seated under a tree, and a landscape with another tree visible is shown at the left, in the background. After his husbands death, in 1807, Amelia became a quaker known for her role in good causes. It has been describe as "one the finest portraits of the era, rivalling in expression Reynolds' Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse".[3]
Today the painting is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, in London, having been acquired in 1887.[4]
References
- ^ Bray p.118
- ^ Walker p.376-77
- ^ Burwick p.238
- ^ "NPG 765; Amelia Opie - Portrait Extended - National Portrait Gallery".
Bibliography
- Bray, Joe. The Portrait in Fiction of the Romantic Period. Routledge, 2016.
- Burwick, Frederick. A History of Romantic Literature. John Wiley & Sons, 2019.
- Walker, Richard John Boileau. Regency Portraits, Volume 1. National Portrait Gallery, 1985.