Mary (Newey) Hoadly

This painting is a companion to Hogarth’s portrait of Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop of Winchester, which hangs nearby. Mary Hoadly, who was 32 years his junior, became the bishop’s second wife in 1745. The figures turn toward each other as if engaged in conversation. Although many aspects of this painting are characteristic of Hogarth, the particularly fussy handling of paint in the skirt suggests the intervention of another artist. Perhaps, after the marriage, an existing portrait by Hogarth was reworked by another, less skilled artist in order to form a pair with the bishop’s portrait.