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The Parson's Daughter
By George Romney (1734-1802)
In the National Gallery, London
Romney was the son of a cabinet-maker living at Dalton-in-Furness, Lancashire, and he was brought up to follow the paternal trade. He displayed such a talent for drawing, however, that when he was nineteen years old his father placed him in the studio of a man named Steele, who had worked in the studio of Carle van Loo in Paris, and was then painting portraits in Kendal.
Young Romney proved an apt pupil, and before long he was working on his own account and a married man. He met with such success that in 1762 he determined to try his fortune in London, and he proceeded to the capital, leaving his wife and two children behind in Kendal. His rise in life was both rapid and complete. He challenged the supremacy of Reynolds and Gainsborough, and became extremely popular as a portrait painter, not only among the beautiful and fashionable women of the town, but also with the men. His male studies show characteristically British types of boys and young gallants in the first fine flush of manhood. Romney owes his chief fame, however, to his portraits of women, particularly the many paintings of the fascinating Lady Hamilton, for whom he conceived a passionate attachment in middle life. She made an ideal model, and he showed her in a number of guises, each one of which emphasises her beauty and charm.
Curiously enough, Romney never exhibited at the Royal Academy, and so was not eligible for election as a member of that body. A representative collection of his work is to be seen at the National Gallery, including the present portrait, "The Parson's Daughter," and his first success, "Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. William Lindow," which was painted in 1770.
From the book "Famous Paintings" printed in 1913.
Large files of this public domain print are available at Stock Photos at Songs of Praise
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Online "Name the Painting"
George Romney at Web Gallery of Art
George Romney
at Tate Online
The Parson's Daughter
tells about the renaming of the portrait
Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. William Lindow
Tate Collection
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Index Page
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