A Lady

Artist William Dyce (Aberdeen, Scotland, 1806 - 1864)

Date1832

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 53.5 cm, Width: 43.5 cm
Frame: Height: 77 cm, Width: 67 cm

AcquisitionPresented in 1899 by Alexander Walker.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG003210

Keywords

About MeThe identity of the sitter in this portrait was lost for many years, but comparison with other studies and portraits shows that she is clearly William Dyce's younger sister Isabella, who shared her brother's features and aquiline nose.

A label on the back of the painting describes how it was ..... sketched in one hour and twenty minutes and this has led to a tremendous freshness of touch that is sometimes absent in Dyce's more finished oil portraits.

Isabella was born in Aberdeen in 1811. She was both a favourite sister and model, especially after she and William Dyce moved to Edinburgh, where they shared a house. This is probably the earliest depiction of Isabella, who would have been twenty at the time this portrait was painted.

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Known now from comparisons with other pictures to be Dyce's younger sister, Isabella: a label on the back in Dyce's hand said it was dome in "one hour and twenty minutes"