Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History


    • Elizabeth Farren (born ca. 1759, died 1829), Later Countess of Derby, 1790
    Sir Thomas Lawrence (British, 1769–1830)
    Oil on canvas

    94 x 57 1/2 in. (238.8 x 146.1 cm)
    Bequest of Edward S. Harkness, 1940 (50.135.5)

    The Irish actress Elizabeth Farren made her London debut in 1777 as Kate Hardcastle in Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. She was at the height of her career when this canvas was shown at the Royal Academy in 1790. Seven years later, she married the twelfth earl of Derby. This beautiful portrait helped to secure for Lawrence the role of successor to the elderly Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792).

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    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Strouse, Jean. "J. Pierpont Morgan: Financier and Collector." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 57, no. 3 (Winter, 1999–2000).
    JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs
    • "Director's Note" PDF
  • Baetjer, Katharine. "British Portraits: In The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 57, no. 1 (Summer, 1999).
    JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs
    • "Director's Note" PDF
    • "Introduction" PDF
    • On view: Gallery 629
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    Elizabeth Farren (born ca. 1759, died 1829), Later Countess of Derby, 1790
    Sir Thomas Lawrence (British, 1769–1830)
    Oil on canvas

    94 x 57 1/2 in. (238.8 x 146.1 cm)
    Bequest of Edward S. Harkness, 1940 (50.135.5)


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