Portrait of Mary Frances (Fanny) Swinburne

c. 1786
(British, 1742–1821)
Framed: 7 x 5.8 cm (2 3/4 x 2 5/16 in.); Sight: 6.8 x 5.7 cm (2 11/16 x 2 1/4 in.)
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location: not on view

Download, Print and Share

Did You Know?

Richard Cosway painted Mary Frances’s parents, Henry and Martha, in the same year he painted this.

Description

Mary Frances (Fanny) Swinburne (d. 1828) was the eldest daughter of the travel writer Henry Swinburne. This portrait was painted around 1786, when Richard Cosway was reaching the mature stage of his career and was among the most sought after miniature painters in London. In this work the sitter’s hair is adorned with pearls—a style commonly seen in portraits of the period. She wears an earring in her right ear. Her bright blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and red lips are accentuated by her mass of curled, powdered hair and her pale skin and gown. This work is a classic example of Cosway’s elegant female portraits, exhibiting the nearly monochromatic palette and free style that would be so decisively rejected in the next century by such artists as Andrew Robertson (1777–1845) and William Charles Ross (1794–1860). The miniature is placed in a twentieth-century revival period gold and blue enamel frame with graduated split pearls. This ornate type of frame was especially popular among early-twentieth-century collectors who felt that it suited the grandeur of miniatures by Cosway and his circle, the female portraits of which were so often composed of the pale tones of gauzy dresses, blue skies, and pearl-ornamented hair.
Portrait of Mary Frances (Fanny) Swinburne

Portrait of Mary Frances (Fanny) Swinburne

c. 1786

Richard Cosway

(British, 1742–1821)
England, 18th century

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.