Portrait of Charlotte and Sarah Carteret-Hardy

1801

Thomas Lawrence

(British, 1769–1830)

Culture

England, early 19th Century

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

Framed: 161 x 135 x 11 cm (63 3/8 x 53 1/8 x 4 5/16 in.); Unframed: 129 x 103 cm (50 13/16 x 40 9/16 in.)

Credit Line

Bequest of John L. Severance 1942.642

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Location

203A British Painting and Decorative Arts

Did You Know?

Lawrence was a child prodigy and largely self-taught. At the early age of 10, he made accomplished portraits in crayon.

Description

Charlotte (left) and Sarah were 19 and 21, respectively, when this portrait was painted on the occasion of Sarah’s marriage to the topographer Daniel Lysons. The sisters wear fashionable gowns and jewelry, but their affectionate posture conveys a sisterly tenderness that transcends glamour. There was a seemingly insatiable demand for Thomas Lawrence’s portraits representing stylish English society, but he was notoriously slow working. Although this picture was begun in 1801, it still was not finished in 1806 when a friend noted its presence in the artist’s studio.