Harriot Beauclerk (née Mellon), Duchess of St Albans

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Harriot Beauclerk (née Mellon), Duchess of St Albans

by Sir William Beechey
oil on canvas, circa 1815
94 in. x 58 in. (2388 mm x 1473 mm)
Bequeathed by W.L.A. Burdett Coutts, 1921
Primary Collection
NPG 1915

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Sir William Beechey (1753-1839), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 252 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.

This portraitback to top

From 1815, the year of peace with France, Romantic influences began to dominate female dress. The narrow skirt remained but waists rose ever higher while the width across the bust was further emphasised by puffed sleeves. For evening wear, the muslins of the previous decade were being replaced by lustrous satins, veiled by overdresses of pale net to produce a shimmering effect. These were usually elaborately trimmed. The deep veil and overdress worn by the Duchess of St Albans in this painting are finished with the finest lace. This is combined with costly pearl tassels and sleeve decorations to create an air of luxury and sophistication. In her hand she carries a pair of white kid gloves. Her hair is worn in the fashionable 'Ancient Greek' style: longer, with a centre parting and curls bunched on the crown.

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Events of 1815back to top

Current affairs

John and James Leigh Hunt are released from prison after a two year sentence for slandering the Prince of Wales in their outspoken, radical periodical the Examiner.
Corn Laws are introduced to protect against the collapse in prices which would inevitably follow peace with France, prompting riots in London.

Art and science

Humphry Davy invents the miners' safety lamp though its reception is clouded by William Clanny and George Stephenson who present rival models in the same year.
British Institution arranges first in innovative series of Old Master exhibitions
provoking virulent attack on its patrons for neglecting contemporary art.

International

Napoleon returns to France from exile in Elba and resumes power until his abdication on 22 June; a period known as the 'Hundred Days'.
Battle of Waterloo concludes the Anglo-French struggle that had lasted more than a century. Peace of Vienna establishes Britain's global political, economic and imperial dominance which lasts for the next hundred years.

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