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Portrait of Two Sisters in a Landscape - British 19th century art oil painting

Circa 1840

$15,348.71
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£11,200
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€13,066.62
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NOK 155,939.84
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About the Item

British female artist, attributed to Margaret Sarah Carpenter, nee Geddes, painted this lovely 19th century portrait oil painting. Painted circa 1840 it is a three quarter length portrait of a two sisters in a landscape. The colours are still vibrant and the detail lovely. Carpenter mostly painted portraits in the manner of Thomas Lawrence and his influence can be seen here in the composition and detail. A lovely Victorian portrait oil painting by a female artist who was much sought after as a portraitist in London and she was also a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy. When purchased this painting was of a single sitter. However when this stunning painting was professionally cleaned it revealed the second younger sister. Provenance. Christie's, London. 22 September 1978 Lot 50 as by D Allen Attribution Cheffins Condition. Oil on canvas, 30 inches by 25 inches unframed and in good condition. Frame. Housed in a fine carved gilt period frame, 40 inches by 35 inches framed and in good condition. Margaret Sarah Carpenter (née Geddes, 1793-1872), was an English painter. Noted in her time, she mostly painted portraits in the manner of Sir Thomas Lawrence. She was a close friend of Richard Parkes Bonington. Carpenter was born in Salisbury, the daughter of Captain Alexander Geddes, who was of an Edinburgh family, and Harriet Easton. She was taught art by a local drawing-master. Her first art studies were made from the pictures at Longford Castle, belonging to the Earl of Radnor. In 1812, one of Carpenter's copies of the head of a boy was awarded a medal by the Society of Arts, who awarded her another medal in 1813, and a gold medal in 1814. She went to London in 1814, and soon established her reputation as a fashionable portrait painter. She exhibited a portrait of Lord Folkestone at the Royal Academy in 1814, and a picture entitled 'The Fortune Teller' at the British Institution. She exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1818 and 1866. Her painting The Lace maker was on display at the 1857 Manchester Art Treasures exhibition. She also exhibited at the British Institution and at the Suffolk Street Gallery. Of Carpenter's Head of a Polish Jew, exhibited at the British Institution in 1823, a reviewer wrote: It very rarely happens that a specimen of art like this is produced from the hand of a lady: Here are colour, light, strength and effect, and anatomical drawing. The painting was bought for 45 guineas by the Marquess of Stafford, an influential art patrons, who had previously bought her medal-winning painting of 1813. In December 2013 the picture resurfaced at auction (with some fire damage) and was purchased by a family relative for restoration. Among Carpenter's exhibited portraits were those of Sir H. Bunbury (1822), Lady Denbigh (1831), and Lady King (better known as Ada Lovelace) (1835). Her last work was a portrait of Dr. Whewell. Three of her works are in the National Portrait Gallery collection in London, including portraits of her husband, Bonington and the sculptor John Gibson. There are also several 'leaving portraits' by her in the collection at Eton College. Her portrait of 'The 2nd Lord de Tabley in Academic Robes' hangs in the dining room at Tabley House. There is also one of her portraits at Frewen College, of Helen Louisa Frewen and her son Edward. Her "Portrait of a Lady" hangs in the Neill-Cochran House Museum in Austin, Texas. Her portraits follow in the tradition of Lawrence, but Wood found them to be more fanciful and feminine character, particularly in her portraits of children. In 1817, she married William Hookham Carpenter, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum. Their children included two noted painters, another William and Percy Carpenter, who both travelled. She introduced her sister Harriet to the young painter William Collins. They eventually married, making Margaret the aunt to Wilkie Collins, novelist and friend to Charles Dickens. On her husband's death in 1866, she was given an annual pension of £100 by Queen Victoria. This award was partly based on her husband's service, but also in recognition of her own artistic merits. She died in London on 13 November 1872, in her 80th year.
  • Attributed to:
    Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793 - 1872)
  • Creation Year:
    Circa 1840
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 40 in (101.6 cm)Width: 35 in (88.9 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU853113070082

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