BARONESS LE DESPENCER

Original 1844 9 1/8 inch x 6 1/2 inch Stipple and steel engraving titled BARONESS LE DESPENCER

Portrait of Mary Viscountess Falmouth when Baroness le Despencer; three quarter length, standing looking to right; one hand fondling the pearl necklace she is wearing; stole over left arm; illustration to Heath’s ‘Book of Beauty’ (1845).

Engraved by John Henry Robinson (1796 – 1871). A line, stipple and occasional mezzotint engraver from Bolton. He was apprenticed to James Heath between 1814-1818 and then set up initially as a book-illustrator. He engraved portraits and prints after popular contemporary painters, e.g. Landseer. He fought a long battle to win respect from the Royal Academy as a line-engraver and was eventually elected Associate Member of the Royal Academy in 1856.

From a picture by Sir William Charles Ross (1794 – 1860). Ross was the leading exponent of the portrait miniature of his day, and was appointed Miniature Painter to Queen Victoria in 1837. He was celebrated not only for his ability to create a good likeness, but also for his compositions, which often incorporated full-length figures and elaborate backgrounds, making his miniatures small paintings rather than simple head and shoulders portraits.

Image size 7 3/8 inch x 4 3/4 inch

The engraving is in very good condition with slight age related toning. Reverse side blank.