Lady Chesterfield's Room

The state bed was made about 1680, and the crimson damask curtains and coverlet renewed in the 1920s. Beside the bed is a touching portrait of Peg Woffington, a famous actress who played opposite her lover, David Garrick, on the mid-eighteenth-century London stage. In 1757 she collapsed during a performance and for the rest of her short life she was confined to bed.

Download In focus: Lady Chesterfield's Suite

Portraits from the National Portrait Gallery on display:

Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
1757-1806
Beauty and leader of Whig society; first wife of 5th Duke of Devonshire
by Sir Joshua Reynolds
circa 1761
oil on canvas, feigned oval
23 in. x 18 1/2 in. (584 mm x 470 mm)
NPG 1041

Margaret Woffington
circa 1714-1760
'Peg Woffington', actress
by Unknown artist
circa 1758
oil on canvas
35 1/2 in. x 42 in. (902 mm x 1067 mm)
NPG 650

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All images and text are subject to copyright protection. 22 November 2008