Letitia Elizabeth Landon (Mrs Maclean)

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Letitia Elizabeth Landon (Mrs Maclean)

by Daniel Maclise
pencil, black chalk and stump, circa 1830-1835
10 3/4 in. x 8 1/2 in. (273 mm x 216 mm)
Purchased, 1922
Primary Collection
NPG 1953

Sitterback to top

Artistback to top

  • Daniel Maclise (1806-1870), History and portrait painter. Artist or producer associated with 108 portraits, Sitter associated with 17 portraits.

This portraitback to top

The emphasis on breadth in female dress continued into the early 1830s. The poet and novelist Letitia Landon wears 'Donna Maria' sleeves on her satin dress; full to the elbow and then tight to the wrist. The bodice pleats converge on a fashionable buckled belt. Her tucker, worn inside the neckline, is edged with a lace ruff while a frill in the popular 'van Dyck' style extends over the shoulders. Her full, gathered skirt would have been worn to the ankle. Landon wears her hair in a typical evening style: centre-parted and worn smooth to the temples, ending in ringlets dangling over the ears. The back is gathered up in a popular 'Apollo knot', formed from flat loops of stiffened hair interwined with braids.

Linked publicationsback to top

Events of 1830back to top

Current affairs

George IV dies at Windsor on 26 June; William IV succeeds to the throne.
Duke of Wellington resigns as Prime Minister to be succeeded by Earl Grey.
'Captain Swing' disturbances among agricultural districts in southern England. Taking their name from a mythical leader, hundreds of labourers break the threshing machines that threaten their winter employment.

Art and science

Liverpool and Manchester Railway opens; MP William Huskisson is run down by a train and killed at the inaugural ceremony.
William Cobbett publishes Rural Rides; a nostalgic tribute to the English countryside which expresses dismay at the sweeping changes taking place.

International

July Revolution in France overthrows the Bourbon dynasty. Charles X goes into exile in England and Louis Philippe, Duc d'Orleans is proclaimed King by the Chamber of Deputies who fear European opposition to the declaration of a second Republic.

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