Cleveland Museum of Art

Portrait of the Hon. Anne Annesley, later Countess of Mountnorris

Richard Cosway

Date

c. 1800

Medium

watercolor on ivory in a gold frame

Culture

England, 19th century

Department

Modern European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Anne Annesley (née Courtenay, 1774–1835) was the eighth daughter of William 2nd Viscount Courtenay, and sister of William 3rd Viscount Courtenay, who commissioned numerous paintings of himself and his six sisters from Richard Cosway in oil and miniature. William’s expenditure for these works between 1790 and 1812 reached £1,370, a bill that wasn’t paid in full until 1820. Anne married George Annesley, later 2nd Earl of Mountnorris, in September 1790. Cosway, who frequently depicted female sitters in gauzy white gowns, lavished attention on Anne’s attire. Her pale yellow coat is lined with fur that is sensitively delineated with a combination of short brushstrokes distinct from those that form her dark, wavy hair. Fur-trimmed jackets like this one would probably have been worn indoors by women during the colder months. Another version of this portrait is nearly identical to the Cleveland miniature and was likely for another friend or member of Anne's family.

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