Kauffmann and Restored Reynolds on Display at Saltram House
May 21 2024
Picture: art9000.com
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
Saltram House in Devon, a property run by The National Trust, have been lent Angelica Kauffmann's portrait of its previous owner Theresa Parker from a private collection. The painting is on display alongside the property's recently restored full-length portrait of Theresa by Sir Joshua Reynolds. According to the article linked above:
Kauffman’s portrait of Theresa Parker was commissioned by Parker herself as a gift for her friend Lady Pelham. The portrait is on loan from a private collection and is being shown in public for the first time in this country.
The small full-length depiction of Theresa is intimate in scale and shows her in fashionable Turkish dress. The portrait representing Theresa’s love for her friend contrasts the portrait by Reynolds, which was commissioned for public display at the Royal Academy in 1773, and as a companion for another large historical family portrait in the Saloon. [...]
The two portraits of Theresa Parker have added poignance as Theresa sadly died in 1775 at the age of only 35. Reynolds was the one to write her obituary, again, a testament to their friendship and his respect of her artistic knowledge and sensibility.
The paintings will be on display in the house until the end of June.
