Sarah Siddons (née Kemble) ('Mrs Siddons with the Emblems of Tragedy')

Sitterback to top

• Sarah Siddons (née Kemble) (1755-1831), Actress. Sitter associated with 38 portraits, Artist associated with 1 portrait.

Artistback to top

• Sir William Beechey (1753-1839), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 248 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Sarah Siddons was the greatest actress of her era. Born into a famous theatrical family, the Kembles, in 1773 she married the actor William Siddons against her parents' wishes. Although she had acted from an early age her first major success upon the stage came in 1782 with her portrayal of Isabella in David Garrick's Fatal Marriage. She went on to play a succession of leading roles in classic and contemporary drama. Excelling at Shakespeare, her most famous role was that of Lady Macbeth. Her skills as a tragedian are celebrated in this portrait by Beechey in which Siddons, holding a tragic mask and a dagger, is shown with a monument to Shakespeare. A comic mask resting almost hidden on the top of the monument suggests that her talents also extended to comic acting.

Linked publicationsback to top

• Audio Guide
• Ingamells, John, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, 2004, p. 431
• Perry, Gill (introduction) Roach, Joseph (appreciation) and West, Shearer (appreciation), The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons, 2011 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 20 October 2011 to 8 January 2012), p. 108
• Rogers, Malcolm, Master Drawings from the National Portrait Gallery, 1993 (accompanying the exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery from 5 August to 23 October 1994), p. 66
• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 564

Subjects & Themesback to top

• Actresses tour
• Georgian tour
• Landscapes
• Masks and disguises
• On display at the Gallery
• Swords and shields