Left: Whole painting. Right: Painting in its frame.
Portrait of Mrs Spencer Herapath, née Ada Oakes. 1880. Georgina Koberwein Terrell (1856-1939). Oil on canvas. 92 x 64 cm. (36.2 x 25.2 in.) Reproduced by kind permission of the private owner. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
Two details from the painting. Left: Ada Herapath's face. Right: The masterly detailing of her sleeve, cuff and hands (complete with rings).
Ada came from a wealthy family who had made a fortune in India: she married Spencer Herapath, a stockbroker, in December 1881. (As seen below, the portrait is dated 1880, so had to be sent back to the artist for her to paint in the wedding ring.) The marriage was not happy and Spencer disgraced the family when he went bankrupt in 1888 and was "hammered" at the Stock Exchange. Ada was the sister-in-law of Marion Sambourne, wife of the famous Punch cartoonist Linley Sambourne, and there is a good deal of information about her in Marion's diary.— Shirley Nicholson
The artist's signature, on the lower right of the painting.
Bibliography
Nicholson. Shirley. A Victorian Household, Based on the Diaries of Marion Sambourne. Cheltenham, Glos.: The History Press, 2005.
Created 14 October 2024