Mrs Pope

Henry Edridge was regularly invited to weekend parties at country estates where he would be encouraged to take portraits of his hosts and his fellow guests; it is likely that this elegant portrait of Mrs Pope was painted at one such gathering. Demurely poised in a classical landscape, Mrs Pope wears a cross-over gown with a high waistline, narrow sleeves and short train. Her curled hair is decorated with ropes of pearls. The landscaped garden features a neoclassical rotunda surrounded by tall trees that are reflected in the lake. In the foreground colourful hollyhocks before a stone urn on a pedestal draws in the viewer’s eye.

Watercolour on card with slight age-toning and a light scratch (as shown), circa 1795. The portrait is presented in a handsome bird’s eye maple veneer frame (old loss to the corners) with a gilt slip (with rubbing).

The eldest son of a London tradesman, Henry Edridge (1768-1821) was apprenticed to an engraver and, aged 15, entered the Royal Academy Schools. His London studio attracted the aristocracy as well as many artists and poets.