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Elizabeth (née Farren), Countess of Derby

1 of 8 portraits by Anne Seymour Damer (née Conway)

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Elizabeth (née Farren), Countess of Derby

by Anne Seymour Damer (née Conway)
marble bust, circa 1788
23 5/8 in. x 11 3/4 in. (600 mm x 300 mm) overall
Given by Rupert Gunnis, 1965
Primary Collection
NPG 4469

On display in the Entrance Hall on Floor 0 at the National Portrait Gallery

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In the 18th century, Anne Seymour Damer was unusual as a woman sculptor. She subverted gender expectations in other ways, often being noted for her ‘Sapphic’ behaviour and masculine dress by contemporaries. This bust depicts the actor Elizabeth Farren as Thalia, the Greek muse of comedy.

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Current affairs

Parliament begins an investigation into the slave trade, led by reformers Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce.
Regency Crisis; George III's madness is announced provoking a political storm.
Former Governor-General of Bengal Warren Hastings' trial begins before the House of Lords.
Henry Benedict Stuart becomes the new Stuart claimant to the British throne.

Art and science

Artist Thomas Gainsborough dies.
First edition of The Times newspaper is published in London.
Scottish engineer and inventor William Symington demonstrates the first paddle steamer on Dalswinton Loch near Dumfries.
Robert Burns writes his version of the Scots poem Auld Lang Syne.

International

Ministers of the French King, Louis XVI, reluctantly announce that the Estates General will meet the following year, for the first time since 1614.
United States constitution comes into force when New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify it.
First Fleet reaches Australia, anchoring in Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip, selecting a suitable site for the first Australian penal colony, names the place Sydney Cove.

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