The Soapmaker’s Wife

The lady in this portrait is named as Dorothy Fripp. She was born in Holborn, London in 1756, the eldest of eight children born to Edward Bowles and his wife Bridget née Downing. Dorothy was 23 years old when she married Samuel Fripp Jun. of Bristol, a second generation soapmaker. Established in 1745, Samuel Fripp & Co. specialized in toilet soap made with olive oil. The Fripps were Moravians – their three children born between 1784 and 1788 were all baptized in the local Moravian Church – and were prominent in Bristol society. When Dorothy’s husband died from a stroke in 1811 he was praised for his honest and beneficent character. Dorothy died five years later in 1816 at the age of 60.

Seated on a Chippendale style chair, Dorothy is depicted wearing a dusky pink décolleté round gown with a puffed out fichu and a modest mob cap, her gold wedding band being her only jewellery. She has a fresh complexion (all that olive oil soap!) and a patient expression. The portrait is unsigned but is attributed to William Read who was working in the Bristol/Bath area during the late 1780s. His portraits are often half-length in style and include furniture props.

The portrait resides in an ebonised frame with convex glass with a hand-written label reverse.

Ivory Exemption Ref.: XSQGN64S