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

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