Mrs. Robinson
Engraver Thomas Burke Irish
After Sir Joshua Reynolds British
Sitter Mary "Perdita" Robinson British
Not on view
Published as a frontispiece in a volume of Mrs. Robinson's "Poems" 1791, this print is based on Reynolds's portrait of 1783-84 (Wallace Collection, London; Mannings 1532). Writing poetry from the age of seven, and acting from fifteen, Robinson became a star of the London stage in 1776. As Perdita in the Shakespeare's "Winter's Tale," she attracted the attention of George, Prince of Wales who persuaded her to become his mistress, but then left her and failed to deliver promised financial support. A fever left Mary partially paralyzed in 1783, but did not prevent her from writing additional poems, novels, plays, political treatises and essays that led her to become known as the "English Sappho."
