Portrait of Mary Wise (c. 1774): Art, History and Details

Portrait of Mary Wise (c. 1774) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Thomas Gainsborough (British, 1727–1788).

The work and its context

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

Mary’s modest and contemplative demeanor is a counterpoint to a rather elaborate ensemble consisting of a gown embroidered with gold flower sprigs, trimmed with lace and pearls, and tied with a gold sash, as well as a gold-striped veil and a bracelet with eight gold bands. Gainsborough’s compact oval format and the sitter’s informal pose lend this portrait an air of intimacy.

Object facts

• Title: Portrait of Mary Wise
• Date: c. 1774
• Creator attribution: Thomas Gainsborough (British, 1727–1788)
• Culture: England, 18th century
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: Unframed: 76.2 x 63.6 cm (30 x 25 1/16 in.)
• Collection: P - British before 1800
• Department: European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1944.82

A detail from the museum

The portrait shows Mary in her twenties, with her hair powdered fashionably grey.

Collection credit

The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection

Further reading listed by the museum

• Belsey, Hugh. Thomas Gainsborough: The Portraits, Fancy Pictures and Copies After Old Masters. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2019. p. 884-885.
• Gainsborough, Thomas. Portrait of Mrs. Wise by Thomas Gainsborough, R.A., 1727-1788. Paris, France, New York, NY: F. Kleinberger Galleries, [date of publication not identified].
• Graves, Algernon. The Royal Academy of Arts; A Complete Dictionary of Contributors and Their Work from Its Foundation in 1769 to 1904. London, United Kingdom: H. Graves and Co, 1905.

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.