The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Portrait of Mary Wise

c. 1774

Thomas Gainsborough

(British, 1727–1788)
England, 18th century
oil on canvas
Unframed: 76.2 x 63.6 cm (30 x 25 1/16 in.)
The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection 1944.82
Location: 203B British Painting and Decorative Arts

Did You Know?

The portrait shows Mary in her twenties, with her hair powdered fashionably grey.

Description

Mary’s modest and contemplative demeanor is a counterpoint to a rather elaborate ensemble consisting of a gown embroidered with gold flower sprigs, trimmed with lace and pearls, and tied with a gold sash, as well as a gold-striped veil and a bracelet with eight gold bands. Gainsborough’s compact oval format and the sitter’s informal pose lend this portrait an air of intimacy.
  • around 1776-?
    Mrs. Henry Christopher Wise (née Mary Wathen) [born 1751] by descent to her great-granddaughter, Catherine Waller
    ?-1892
    Catherine [1804-1861] and Sir Thomas Wathen Waller, 2nd Bt [1805-1892], by descent to their grandson, Sir Francis Grant Waller
    1892-1910
    Sir Francis Grant Waller, 4th Bt, sold to Agnew
    1910
    (Agnew, London, sold to Duveen)
    1910
    (Duveen, through Romer Williams)
    ?
    (F. Kleinberger Galleries, New York, NY)
    1913
    (Duveen)
    ?-1944
    Elizabeth Severance Prentiss Allen [1865-1944], Cleveland, OH, bequeathed by her to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1944-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    Provenance Footnotes
    1 purchased by Agnew on May 11, 1910
    2 purchased by Duveen through Romer Williams on June 2, 1910
  • Belsey, Hugh. Thomas Gainsborough: The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies After Old Masters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2019. p. 884-885.
    Gainsborough, Thomas. Portrait of Mrs. Wise by Thomas Gainsborough, R.A., 1727-1788. Paris, France, New York, NY: F. Kleinberger Galleries, [date of publication not identified].
    Graves, Algernon. The Royal Academy of Arts; A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and Their Work from Its Foundation in 1769 to 1904. London, United Kingdom: H. Graves and Co, 1905. Reproduced: p. 192, vol. III
    Catalogue of the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection : Bequest of Elisabeth Severance Prentiss, 1944. [Cleveland]: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1944. Reproduced: p. [20], Plate VIII, cat. no. 5; Mentioned: p. 22, cat. no. 5 archive.org
    Waterhouse, Ellis K. "Preliminary Check List of Portraits by Thomas Gainsborough." The Walpole Society, XXXIII (1948-1950) Reproduced: p. 114
    Waterhouse, Ellis Kirkham. Gainsborough. London, United Kingdom: E. Hulton, 1958. Reproduced: p. 96, no. 729
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Mentioned: p. 187-189; Reproduced: p. 188
    Whitley, William T. Thomas Gainsborough. London: Unicorn, 2016. Reproduced: P. 157
    Belsey, Hugh. Thomas Gainsborough: The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies After Old Masters. New Haven : Published for the Paul mellon Centre for Studies in British Art by Yale University Press, 2019. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 884-886, cat. 956
    Francis, Henry S. "Paintings in the Pretiss Bequest."The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art XXXI, no. 6 (June, 1944): 87-89. Mentioned: p. 89
  • British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    Royal Academy, Burlington House, London, United Kingdom (1778).
    Montgomery Arts Festival. Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL (organizer) (April 29-May 13, 1955).
    Second National Exhibition, Woman and Child in Art, Grosvenor Gallery, London, United Kingdom (1913-1914).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of Mary Wise|url=false|author=Thomas Gainsborough|year=c. 1774|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1944.82