Unknown woman, formerly known as Peg Woffington

Sitterback to top

• Margaret ('Peg') Woffington (1720?-1760), Actress. Sitter associated with 20 portraits.

Artistback to top

• Francis Hayman (1707 or 1708-1776), Painter. Artist associated with 13 portraits, Sitter in 6 portraits.

This portraitback to top

The National Portrait Gallery acquired this picture in 1928 as a portrait of the actress Peg Woffington. We now think this identification is unlikely. The painting may not even be a portrait. Instead it might be a 'genre' scene that depicts a typical moment on the streets of an eighteenth-century English town. A middle-class woman wearing fashionable, modest costume is pulling on her gloves as she waits for her black page boy to summon the sedan chair, seen in the distance.

Linked publicationsback to top

• Kerslake, John, Early Georgian Portraits, 1977, p. 312
• Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 697

Subjects & Themesback to top

• Beningbrough Hall
• Diversity