Mary Anne Clarke (née Thompson)

1 portrait

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Mary Anne Clarke (née Thompson)

by Lawrence Gahagan
marble bust, 1811
24 3/8 in. x 17 3/4 in. (620 mm x 450 mm) overall
Purchased, 1965
Primary Collection
NPG 4436

On display in Room 15 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Lawrence Gahagan (active 1756-1820), Sculptor. Artist or producer associated with 3 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Gahagan's bust was commissioned by Clarke herself and it is believed to have stood in her house between portraits of the Duke of York and Colonel Wardle. The pose, rising from the petals of a sunflower, may have been chosen as an allegory of the cast-off mistress. It derives from a celebrated Roman bust, part of the Towneley collection displayed at the British Museum form 1808, and then thought to represent Clytie, the deserted lover of Helios, who was changed into a sunflower so that she could follow her lover's progress across the sky each day.

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Events of 1811back to top

Current affairs

George III's insanity is finally publicly admitted amidst arguments in Parliament over the credibility of his doctors. George, Prince of Wales is appointed Regent despite doubts over his capacity to rule effectively. This prompts the Prince's final split with the Catholic Mrs Fitzherbert, his clandestine wife

Art and science

John Loudon McAdam presents his new road surfacing technique to Parliament.
Jane Austen publishes Sense and Sensibility.
Sculptor Francis Leggatt Chantrey exhibits at the Royal Academy for the first time with a celebrated bust of the radical John Horne Tooke.

International

Battle of Albuera; British invade French-held Badajoz in Spain under William Carr Beresford and are victorious over Marshal Soult.
Java captured.

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