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Edward Smith Stanley (1752–1834), Twelfth Earl of Derby, Elizabeth, Countess of Derby (Lady Elizabeth Hamilton, 1753–1797), and Their Son (Edward Smith Stanley, 1775–1851)

ca. 1776
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 630
In an imagined interior brimming with references to classical antiquity, this young aristocratic family makes a highly fashionable display of domestic bliss. The countess’s costume is vaguely classical, while her husband wears stylish fancy dress inspired by Van Dyck’s portraits from a century before. Unfortunately, the marriage was an unhappy one; roughly two years after Kauffmann painted this portrait, the countess left her husband for a lover. After her death, he married the actress Elizabeth Farren, whose celebrated portrait by Thomas Lawrence hangs in Gallery 628.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Edward Smith Stanley (1752–1834), Twelfth Earl of Derby, Elizabeth, Countess of Derby (Lady Elizabeth Hamilton, 1753–1797), and Their Son (Edward Smith Stanley, 1775–1851)
  • Artist: Angelica Kauffmann (Swiss, Chur 1741–1807 Rome)
  • Date: ca. 1776
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 50 x 40 in. (127 x 101.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Bernard M. Baruch, in memory of his wife, Annie Griffen Baruch, 1959
  • Object Number: 59.189.2
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Lady Elizabeth Stanley (1753–1797), Countess of Derby, George Romney British, Oil on canvas
Lady Elizabeth Stanley (1753–1797), Countess of Derby
George Romney
1776–78
Pair of doors with scenes after Angelica Kauffman, Angelica Kauffmann Swiss, Wood, polychromed copper, gilt bronze, British
Pair of doors with scenes after Angelica Kauffman
Angelica Kauffmann
after 1784
Design for Ceiling: Apollo and the Hours, Angelica Kauffmann Swiss, Pen and black ink, brush and gray ink, brown wash, watercolor, over black chalk
Design for Ceiling: Apollo and the Hours
Angelica Kauffmann
Giovanni Battista Cipriani
1760–1807
Girl Braiding Her Hair
Angelica Kauffmann
1765
Study of a Standing Woman, Angelica Kauffmann Swiss, Black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on paper prepared with gray-blue gouache
Study of a Standing Woman
Angelica Kauffmann
1792–96

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