Jane Austen’s ‘airbrushed’ portrait used for £10 note
THE portrait of Jane Austen on the new polymer £10 notes has provoked accusations that it has been “airbrushed”. The new notes feature the Pride
and Prejudice author in a portrait painted by her nephew after her death, in which she appears noticeably prettier and less drawn than in the only contemporary painting that exists.
Lucy Worsley, the television presenter and historian, told The Sunday Times: “It’s deeply ironic that the image chosen by the Bank of England isn’t really her… It’s an author publicity portrait after she died in which she’s been given the Georgian equivalent of an airbrushing.”
The 1817 portrait used for the notes shows Austen with large eyes and a calm expression. It was commissioned after her death at the age of 41.
However, the original sketch on which the portrait is based, by her sister Cassandra, shows her with thin lips, a more pointed chin, and bags under her eyes.
The sketch is the only confirmed portrait of Austen to have been made during her life and is on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Jane Austen will be the only woman, apart from the Queen, to be featured on bank notes once the withdrawal of old £5 notes is completed.
Paper fivers featuring Elizabeth Fry, the prison reformer, have been replaced with polymer notes with a picture of Winston Churchill.
The Bank of England started printing the controversial Jane Austen notes last October and will formally unveil the design on July 18, on the 200th anniversary of the author’s death, at Winchester Cathedral, where she was buried in 1817.
Meanwhile, an artist who masterminded a nationwide treasure hunt for four £5 notes, each worth about £50,000, says the only one still hidden could be anywhere in the world.
Graham Short, a micro-engraver, etched a 5mm portrait of Jane Austen into the transparent part of four new notes. Three were quickly discovered, but no one has laid claim to the fourth.
The serial number of the remaining note is AM32885554.