Paintings

Georgiana (Spencer) Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

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Type: Paintings(Opens in new tab)
Date: ca.1775-76
Accession number: 25.20
Maker: Joshua Reynolds(Opens in new tab) (British, 1723–1792)
Sitter: Sitter: Georgiana (Spencer) Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire(Opens in new tab) (British, 1757–1806)
Dimensions: 94 1/4 x 58 1/16 in. (239.4 x 147.5 cm.)
Medium: oil on canvas
Description: In this full-legth portrait, Lady Cavendish is depicted on the steps of a terrace, standing next to a balustrade on which she is resting her hand. Transparent cast shadows, from the trees beneath which she stands, fall across her breast and right arm and below her knees. In the background are trunks and foliage and a cloud-flecked, blue sky over a glade in which a statue stands.
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)

Label text

The Duchess of Devonshire appears exceedingly dignified and reserved, qualities that her mother, who commissioned the painting, would have appreciated. In reality, Georgiana was renowned for her spirited personality and informal manners, creating a sensation with her carefully casual manner of dressing.

Georgiana (Spencer) Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

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