Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge (1797-1889) 1818
Oil on canvas | 239.7 x 148.9 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 404680
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After the death in 1817 of George IV’s daughter, Princess Charlotte, the younger sons of George III realised that they had the opportunity (and perhaps even obligation) to father a monarch. One of the three dynastic marriages of 1818 was that between Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, and Augusta, Princess of Hesse-Kassel. The Duke commissioned this portrait of his wife on the occasion of his marriage. Painted towards the end of his career, at a time which Sir Thomas Lawrence was the most fashionable portrait painter in England, Beechey seems here quite cravenly to adopt his rival’s manner.
Provenance
Commissioned by Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge; sold by his heirs to Grand Duke Paul of Russia, from whose estate it was acquired by Queen Mary (the sitter’s granddaughter) in 1929
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
239.7 x 148.9 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
266.2 x 173.3 x 10.0 cm (frame, external)