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Paintings

Penelope (Rycroft) Lee Acton

Type
Paintings(Opens in new tab)
Date
1791
Accession number
16.1
Maker
George Romney(Opens in new tab) (British, 1734–1802)
Sitter
Sitter: Penelope (Rycroft) Lee Acton(Opens in new tab) (British, 1764–1819)
Dimensions
93 3/4 x 58 1/4 in. (238.1 x 148 cm.)
Medium
oil on canvas
Description
In this full-length portrait, the sitter, Penelope (Rycroft) Lee Acton, is standing right of center wearing a white dress with long, tight sleeves, and full skirt, edged and hemmed with pleated ribbon. The portrait was commissioned by the spouse of Penelope, Nathaniel Lee Acton, to commemorate their marriage in 1791.
Credit
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Department
European Art
Find out more
View in the Art Museum catalog(Opens in new tab)
Though painted on the happy occasion of her marriage, this portrait of Penelope Lee Acton has a somber undercurrent. Penelope emerges from a dark, wooded landscape on the right to a brightly illuminated clearing on the left but her backward glance suggests a halt in her momentum, as if making a regretful departure.

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