Not currently on display at the V&A

Mrs Siddons

Print
1/1/1783 (published)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This portrait of the great tragic actress Sarah Siddons (1755-1831) by Thomas Cook (?1744-1818) was published on 1st January 1783 in The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure, a periodical published in London between 1747 and 1814 by John Hinton and W. Bent. Sarah Siddons was the rage of London by 1783. She had returned to the London stage in October 1792 after six years performing outside London, when her performance at Drury Lane in the title role of Southerne's Isabella, or The Fatal Marriage had taken the town by storm.

The artist and engraver Thomas Cook worked as a printmaker in several contexts, producing portraits for The Gentleman's Magazine and The Universal Magazine, and frontispieces for book publishers, as well single plates in different genres for the publisher and printmaker John Boydell (1719-1804). Cook was best known for his reproductions of the works of Hogarth published in 1806 as Hogarth Restored.





Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleMrs Siddons (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Engraving on paper
Brief description
Portrait of Mrs Siddons, drawn and engraved by Thomas Cook, published by The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure by S.A. Cumberledge, Paternoster Row, London, 1st January 1783. Harry Beard Collection
Physical description
Head and shoulders engraved portrait of Sarah Siddons, seen in right profile with feather headdress
Dimensions
  • Height: 21cm
  • Width: 12.5cm
Credit line
Harry R. Beard Collection, given by Isobel Beard.
Subject depicted
Summary
This portrait of the great tragic actress Sarah Siddons (1755-1831) by Thomas Cook (?1744-1818) was published on 1st January 1783 in The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure, a periodical published in London between 1747 and 1814 by John Hinton and W. Bent. Sarah Siddons was the rage of London by 1783. She had returned to the London stage in October 1792 after six years performing outside London, when her performance at Drury Lane in the title role of Southerne's Isabella, or The Fatal Marriage had taken the town by storm.

The artist and engraver Thomas Cook worked as a printmaker in several contexts, producing portraits for The Gentleman's Magazine and The Universal Magazine, and frontispieces for book publishers, as well single plates in different genres for the publisher and printmaker John Boydell (1719-1804). Cook was best known for his reproductions of the works of Hogarth published in 1806 as Hogarth Restored.



Associated objects
Other number
Collection
Accession number
S.2436-2013

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 12, 2013
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest