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Mary Moser

1 of 6 portraits of Mary Moser

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Mary Moser

by George Romney
oil on canvas, circa 1770-1771
30 in. x 25 1/4 in. (763 mm x 642 mm)
Purchased with help from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Art Fund (with a contribution from the Wolfson Foundation), 2003
Primary Collection
NPG 6641

On display in Room 18 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • George Romney (1734-1802), Portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 165 portraits, Sitter in 5 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Moser specialised in flower-painting which, at that time, was considered to be a lowly genre. Her ambition for professional standing is nevertheless conveyed in Romney's portrait that shows her working on an oil painting. At a time when most male artists stressed the intellectual rather than technical aspects of their work, the oil palette she holds distinguishes Moser from the many women amateurs who practised flower-painting in the less-taxing medium of watercolours. The close focus, dramatic colours and sidelong glance also emphasise that her professional status did not compromise her feminine charms.

Linked publicationsback to top

Linked displays and exhibitionsback to top

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1770back to top

Current affairs

Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford.

Art and science

Oliver Goldsmith publishes his poem The Deserted Village.
Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke publishes Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents discussing the limits of the King's authority.
17-year-old Thomas Chatterton, later hailed as a significant poet, commits suicide in a London garret.
Thomas Gainsborough paints his portrait of Jonathan Buttall, which later becomes known as The Blue Boy.

International

'Townshend duties' on imports into the colonies are repealed, except for the duty on tea. However, this concession is soon followed by the Boston Massacre, in which British troops fire into an unruly crowd in Boston, killing five.
Captain Cook reaches the eastern coast of Australia, at a place which he names Botany Bay. He discovers the Great Barrier Reef when HMS Endeavour runs onto it. Cook claims New South Wales for the British.

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