Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury (née Campbell) ('Modern elegance')
1 of 6 portraits of Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury (née Campbell)
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury (née Campbell) ('Modern elegance')
by James Gillray, published by Hannah Humphrey
etching, published 22 May 1795
11 1/4 in. x 8 1/8 in. (286 mm x 205 mm) paper size
Given by Henry Witte Martin, 1861
Reference Collection
NPG D10789
Sitterback to top
- Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury (née Campbell) (1775-1861), Poet and novelist. Sitter associated with 6 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- James Gillray (1756-1815), Caricaturist. Artist or producer associated with 887 portraits, Sitter in 7 portraits.
- Hannah Humphrey (circa 1745-1818), Publisher and printseller. Artist or producer associated with 720 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.
This portraitback to top
From the mid-1790s fashionable dresses were high-waisted with long, full skirts. In this print of Lady Charlotte Bury, James Gillray satirises a style which became increasingly exaggerated as the decade progressed. 'The ladies waists have ascended to the shoulders' remarked one newspaper in 1796 and here Lady Bury appears almost immobilised by the voluminous billows of fabric on the upper half of her dress. Her overskirt in pale muslin or calico falls apart from the narrow ribbon-belt to reveal the petticoat underneath. It is finished with a small frill on the high neck and light 'half-sleeves' to the elbow. To complete the outfit she wears a turban headdress with a plume of ostrich feathers so large they appear to pull her head backwards as she sneaks a glimpse of her own reflection.
Related worksback to top
- NPG D12524: Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Bury (née Campbell) ('Modern elegance') (from same plate)
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1795back to top
Current affairs
George, Prince of Wales is forced to marry Caroline Amelia Elizabeth of Brunswick, despite having secretly married Maria Fitzherbert in 1785.Widespread rioting prompts the introduction of the Speenhamland system of welfare supplements which are linked to the price of bread.
Treasonable Practices Act is passed against open criticism of government.
Art and science
The MP Matthew Gregory 'Monk' Lewis publishes his notorious gothic novel The Monk to success and scandal because of its immoral content.Mungo Park explores the course of the River Niger.
International
Wolfe Tone, founder of The Society of United Irishmen, departs for America after being implicated in high treason in Ireland. Exiled in Philadelphia, he soon leaves for France to ask revolutionaries for assistance.Joseph Haydn composes the English Canzonettas during his second stay in London.
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