George Romney (1734 - 1802),Portrait of Lady Ducie, c. 1792- 1793, oil on canvas, 94 ½ x 58 ¾ inches. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, gift of David G. Dixon, M.D., Class of '53 and Cathy S. Bowers Dixon, 2004
This month we celebrate the December 26th birthday of George Romney, one of England’s most popular portrait artists at the end of the eighteenth century.
Portrait of Lady Ducie depicts Sarah Child, who married the Baron of Ducie in 1791 and died only two years later in 1793, aged 52. She is dressed in shimmering white satin and tulle—her face and poise emanate a sense of grandeur and authority. She holds a rolled scroll in one hand, suggesting a connection to antiquity and classical thought, as well as her own erudition and status among the nobility of her day. This is likewise echoed by the monumental column on which she leans her arm.