When were these portraits painted?
QThese oil paintings are said to depict my 4x great grandparents, Emmanuel Harrington and his wife Ann (née Corson). They were married in Worplesdon, Surrey, on 23 December 1788, but the date of death shown on Ann’s portrait is incorrect – otherwise, I have little information about either ancestor. Can you date the paintings and add to our knowledge of them? Peter Harrington
ABefore the development of daguerreotype photographs in the 1840s, the wellheeled might employ portrait painters to capture their likeness in head-and-shoulders miniatures, or larger oil paintings on canvas. These examples are half-length portraits for displaying on the wall at home.
Artists scarcely ever signed their work, so it is uncertain whether these pictures were painted by the same artist, although the male portrait is perhaps slightly more accomplished than the female one. The two picture frames also differ, so they don’t appear to be matching ‘companion’ portraits. However, if these pictures have been passed down the generations together, then it could be assumed that the ancestors portrayed are closely connected, possibly husband and wife. Indeed, the evidence of dress demonstrates that they could have been painted within the same period, between the early 1810s and early 1820s.
So could these well-dressed, comfortably placed sitters represent your 4x great grandparents, who married in 1788? I don’t have Emmanuel and Ann Harrington’s birth dates, but these people look to be in their 40s or early 50s, so you can calculate whether their portraits support your hypothesis.
Jayne Shrimpton
1 WOMAN'S LOOK
The female sitter is depicted as a mature married woman. She is wearing a handsome, discreet dark gown sporting a modest high neckline, as well as a matron’s frilled white day cap. She is also carefully displaying her wedding ring.
2 WOMAN'S DATE
The high waistline, narrow stole, ‘historical’ puffed sleeves and prominent ruff-like collar all indicate a date range of the early 1810s to the early 1820s.
3 MALE ATTIRE
The male portrait is more difficult to date precisely – c1810 to the late 1820s – so it could match the lady’s image.
The masculine Regency fashions that are seen here include a dark frock coat with a sombre waistcoat, in addition to a pristine white linen cravat and his bushy sideburns.
If the subjects are the Harringtons, then the portraits – although painted separately – could reference their 25th (silver) wedding anniversary, occurring in 1813. Alternatively they could represent a landmark birthday for their respective subjects.