Portrait of Harriet (Hatty) G. Hosmer

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Drawing details

Title: Portrait of Harriet (Hatty) G. Hosmer
Date: c.1854-59
Media: Pencil on white paper
Dimensions: 23.9 x 19.0 cm
Location: Leighton House Museum
Picture credit: Leighton House Museum, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Reference number: LHO/D/1139 p.138c
Inscriptions: None

Interpretation

Harriet (Hatty) G. Hosmer (American sculptor, 1830-1905) moved to Rome in 1852, the same year as Leighton, and became a pupil of John Gibson (sculptor, 1790-1866). In Rome, Hosmer was part of the same social group as Leighton, and her friends included Robert Browning (poet, 1812-1889) and his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning (poet and essayist, 1806-1861), Adelaide Sartoris (ne+ Kemble), (opera singer, writer and society hostess, 1814-1879) and her sister Fanny Kemble. Hosmer was known for her unusual appearance, including masculine tailored jackets and short hair. Whilst in Rome she was a leading figure in the White Marmorean Flock, a group of women sculptors working in the neo-classical style.

Description

Sheet formerly pasted into an album of drawings. Half-length portrait of Harriet (Hatty) G. Hosmer (American sculptor, 1830-1905), turned to the left with her head facing the viewer. She is in contemporary dress and has short curly hair. 

Provenance

Collection of Adelaide Sartoris (ne+ Kemble, opera singer, writer and society hostess, 1814-1879); sold through the Maas Gallery (art dealers) in 1969; purchased by Leighton House Museum in 1969