Portrait of Harriet de Wint, wife of Peter de Wint, the landscape painter thumbnail 1
Portrait of Harriet de Wint, wife of Peter de Wint, the landscape painter thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Portrait Miniatures, Room 90a, The International Music and Art Foundation Gallery

Portrait of Harriet de Wint, wife of Peter de Wint, the landscape painter

Portrait Miniature
ca. 1828-1830 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This portrait is a beautiful example of Chalon's elegant style, characterised by soft evanescent washes evoking the fluttering of drapery lit by strong sunlight. Chalon, unlike many of his contemporaries, seemed to relish the somewhat elaborate mode of dress of the 1830s. Indeed one writer has noted that ‘at times there is a smack of the milliner’s assistant about his love of ribbons and trimmings and early Victorian dress’. Certainly, the highlight of Mrs de Wint's portrait is her hat, black trimmed with feathers and lace.

Harriet, the wife of the famous landscape artist Peter de Wint, met her husband through her brother, William Hilton, de Wint's best friend. Harriet's memoirs reveal her devotion to both brother and husband. Her own life was given over to supporting and promoting her husband: ‘A woman of great natural ability and very considerable culture, there is no doubt that her husband owed much of his success to her great social qualities and charming manners.’ Certainly Chalon's dashing portrait is of a woman set to impress, perhaps at some smart private event.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePortrait of Harriet de Wint, wife of Peter de Wint, the landscape painter (popular title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on ivory
Brief description
Watercolour on ivory portrait miniature of Harriet de Wint, wife of Peter de Wint the landscape painter, by Alfred Edward Chalon R.A. Great Britain, c. 1820-25.
Physical description
Portrait of a lady, rectangular with the corners obscured by the frame. She is wearing a frilly pink dress and a very large black hat with black feathers and a long black lace veil falling over one shoulder.
Dimensions
  • Height: 103mm
  • Width: 83mm
Credit line
Purchased with funds from the R. H. Stephenson Bequest
Subjects depicted
Summary
This portrait is a beautiful example of Chalon's elegant style, characterised by soft evanescent washes evoking the fluttering of drapery lit by strong sunlight. Chalon, unlike many of his contemporaries, seemed to relish the somewhat elaborate mode of dress of the 1830s. Indeed one writer has noted that ‘at times there is a smack of the milliner’s assistant about his love of ribbons and trimmings and early Victorian dress’. Certainly, the highlight of Mrs de Wint's portrait is her hat, black trimmed with feathers and lace.

Harriet, the wife of the famous landscape artist Peter de Wint, met her husband through her brother, William Hilton, de Wint's best friend. Harriet's memoirs reveal her devotion to both brother and husband. Her own life was given over to supporting and promoting her husband: ‘A woman of great natural ability and very considerable culture, there is no doubt that her husband owed much of his success to her great social qualities and charming manners.’ Certainly Chalon's dashing portrait is of a woman set to impress, perhaps at some smart private event.
Bibliographic references
  • Lord, John, (Ed.), Peter DeWint: For the common observer of life and nature, Lund Humphries, 2007.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1942, London: HMSO, 1955.
Collection
Accession number
P.43-1942

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Record createdFebruary 26, 2003
Record URL
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