Cropley Ashley-Cooper (Later 6th Earl of Shaftesbury) with His Sister Mary Anne Ashley-Cooper, Later Lady Sturt of Crichel (c. 1776): Art, History and Details

Cropley Ashley-Cooper (Later 6th Earl of Shaftesbury) with His Sister Mary Anne Ashley-Cooper, Later Lady Sturt of Crichel (c. 1776) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Daniel Gardner (British, c. 1750–1805).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Daniel Gardner built a lucrative career that was based on fashionable portraiture, especially small-scale works in pastel, often in oval formats with landscape backgrounds. Executed in this format, this portrait is one of many by the artist that depicted children, his primary subjects. Here, the young Cropley Ashley-Cooper, later the 6th Earl of Shaftesbury, gazes fondly at his older sister, Mary Anne, who holds his hand and encircles his shoulders in close affection. Gardner took advantage of the special optical properties of pastel, whose minute, irregular particles reflect light diffusely, allowing an unparalleled velvety brilliance.

Object facts

• Title: Cropley Ashley-Cooper (Later 6th Earl of Shaftesbury) with His Sister Mary Anne Ashley-Cooper, Later Lady Sturt of Crichel
• Date: c. 1776
• Creator attribution: Daniel Gardner (British, c. 1750–1805)
• Culture: England, 18th century
• Type: Drawing
• Technique: pastel with black and red chalk and graphite
• Dimensions: Sheet: 50.7 x 40.2 cm (19 15/16 x 15 13/16 in.)
• Collection: DR - British
• Department: Drawings
• Accession number: 2011.193

A detail from the museum

This pastel was presumably commissioned from Daniel Gardner by the children's father, who was himself the subject of a portrait by the artist.

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• Libson, Lowell. British Art. Exh. Cat. London: Lowell Libson, 2012.
• Williamson, George Charles. Daniel Gardner, Painter in Pastel and Gouache: A Brief Account of His Life and Works. London: John Lane, 1921.
• Commemorative Catalogue of the Exhibition of British Art. Exh. Cat. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1934.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.