Portrait of Sarah Sophia Child-Villiers, Lady Jersey
Portrait Miniature
1799 (made)
1799 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Anne Mee (b. Foldsone, ca. 1770-1851) was a British miniature painter active in the early nineteenth century. She likely trained with her father, John Foldsone, before taking lessons with George Romney. Her portrait practice supported the family financially after the passing of Mee’s father in 1784. In 1788, the poet William Hayley wrote of Mee:
‘I am sitting for him [George Romney] to a young female genius in miniature, who, at the age of seventeen, will, I trust, under his patronage, most comfortably raise, and support by her wonderful talent, a drooping family.’
Mee was celebrated during her lifetime and gained the patronage of Queen Charlotte and the Prince of Wales. Her husband, Joseph Mee, was supportive of her practice, though the diarist Farrington remarked that he ‘consented to let her paint ladies only who were never to be attended by gentlemen.’ Though reserved, he must have understood the financial incentives in letting Mee continue to paint: her practice was exceptionally lucrative, surpassing prices charged by male contemporaries like Richard Cosway.
Mee exhibited at the Royal Academy and the British Institution between 1804 and 1837.
‘I am sitting for him [George Romney] to a young female genius in miniature, who, at the age of seventeen, will, I trust, under his patronage, most comfortably raise, and support by her wonderful talent, a drooping family.’
Mee was celebrated during her lifetime and gained the patronage of Queen Charlotte and the Prince of Wales. Her husband, Joseph Mee, was supportive of her practice, though the diarist Farrington remarked that he ‘consented to let her paint ladies only who were never to be attended by gentlemen.’ Though reserved, he must have understood the financial incentives in letting Mee continue to paint: her practice was exceptionally lucrative, surpassing prices charged by male contemporaries like Richard Cosway.
Mee exhibited at the Royal Academy and the British Institution between 1804 and 1837.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Portrait of Sarah Sophia Child-Villiers, Lady Jersey (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Watercolour on ivory |
Brief description | Portrait Miniature, Sarah Sophia Child-Villiers, Lady Jersey, by Anne Mee, watercolour on ivory, 1799 |
Physical description | Portrait miniature on ivory of Lady Jersey with gold jewellery and auburn eyes in an engraved metal frame. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | Lady Jersey Miss Child 1799 (Engraved on the upper half of the face of the metal frame) |
Credit line | Bequeathed by Mrs M. V. Cunliffe |
Object history | Anne Mee included Sarah Sophia Child-Villiers in her series of 'fashionable beauties', commissioned by the Prince Regent. In 1812, she started a serial publication, Gallery of Beauties of the Court of George III, though only one issue was published. |
Historical context | Portrait miniatures were frequently exchanged between loved ones and family in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain as tokens of affection and remembrance. |
Subjects depicted | |
Association | |
Summary | Anne Mee (b. Foldsone, ca. 1770-1851) was a British miniature painter active in the early nineteenth century. She likely trained with her father, John Foldsone, before taking lessons with George Romney. Her portrait practice supported the family financially after the passing of Mee’s father in 1784. In 1788, the poet William Hayley wrote of Mee: ‘I am sitting for him [George Romney] to a young female genius in miniature, who, at the age of seventeen, will, I trust, under his patronage, most comfortably raise, and support by her wonderful talent, a drooping family.’ Mee was celebrated during her lifetime and gained the patronage of Queen Charlotte and the Prince of Wales. Her husband, Joseph Mee, was supportive of her practice, though the diarist Farrington remarked that he ‘consented to let her paint ladies only who were never to be attended by gentlemen.’ Though reserved, he must have understood the financial incentives in letting Mee continue to paint: her practice was exceptionally lucrative, surpassing prices charged by male contemporaries like Richard Cosway. Mee exhibited at the Royal Academy and the British Institution between 1804 and 1837. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | P.22-1963 |
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Record created | June 30, 2009 |
Record URL |
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