Lady Constance Stewart-Richardson (née MacKenzie)
(1882-1932), Author and dancer, swimmer and sportswoman; wife of Sir Edward Stewart-Richardson; daughter of 2nd Earl of CromatieSitter in 3 portraits
An athlete and sportswoman, Lady Constance Mackenzie, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Cromartie, was best known for her controversial career as a classical dancer. Adopting the Greek style of dress pioneered by Isadora Duncan and Maud Allan, she danced bare-legged on the New York stage in 1909 at a salary said to be £8,000 a week, albeit for charity. This was followed by controversial appearances in London - including a week's engagement at the Palace Theatre in January 1910 - and the provinces. Her ideas on the raising of children to combine 'perfect harmony of body and mind' were published in Dancing, Beauty and Games (1913). In 1904 she married Sir Edward Stewart-Richardson, 15th Bt, who was killed in 1914, when her eldest son inherited the title. In 1921 she remarried to become Lady Constance Matthew.
Lady Constance Stewart-Richardson (née MacKenzie)
by George Grantham Bain
gelatin silver print, 1913?
NPG x196289
Lady Constance Stewart-Richardson (née MacKenzie)
by H. Walter Barnett
half-plate glass negative
NPG x81650
Lady Constance Stewart-Richardson (née MacKenzie)
by H. Walter Barnett
half-plate glass negative
NPG x81649
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.
Adrian Holden, great nephew of Dennis Matthew
21 December 2018, 23:03
In 1921 she married Dennis Luckie Matthew, the tallest cavalry officer in the Guards, who acted as a King's Messenger. He had been in Chile pre-1914 observing German interests in South America for the Foreign Office and also volunteered for Scott's expedition of 1910 to Antarctica. They had one daughter, Anita, but both parents died tragically young in the early 1930's, and she was brought up by the Scottish half-family. Constance's grand-daughter,Mary, is a dance teacher in Hampshire (2018).
Carol Cambers
22 July 2020, 13:25
A Society Shot: At this season sports is in the air, and each year sees new recruits in the ranks of Society sportswomen. Foremost among noted sportswomen is Lady Constance Steward-Richardson (sic), who is one of the best all-round sportswomen that England boasts of. Not only is she the champion lady swimmer at the Bath Club (having carried off the challenge shield on several occasions), but she has distinguished herself by her stag-shooting in Scotland, and by her adventures in search of big game in the jungles of Ceylon, and shooting wild hogs on the plains of South-west Texas.