Georgiana Hare-Naylor
English painter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Georgiana Hare-Naylor (born Georgiana Shipley; circa 1755[1]–1806) was an English painter and art patron.
1755
Georgiana Shipley | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | Georgiana Mordaunt Shipley 1755 |
| Died | 1806 (aged 50–51) |
| Other name | Georgiana Hare-Naylor |
| Known for | painting and art patron |
| Spouse | Francis Hare-Naylor |
| Children | 4, including Augustus William Hare & Julius Charles Hare |
| Father | Jonathan Shipley |
Life
Georgiana was born at St Asaph in 1752,[2] the fourth daughter of Anna Maria, born Mordaunt, and Jonathan Shipley, then a canon of Christ Church, Oxford and later Bishop of Llandaff and of St Asaph.[3] Her eldest sister Anna Maria married Sir William Jones, who proposed the existence of the Indo-European language.[4] Georgiana was a scholar, excellent at Latin.[2] She learned painting in Joshua Reynolds's studio and in 1781 exhibited at the Royal Academy in London.[5]
She was a few years older than her cousin and namesake Georgiana Spencer, later Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. The duchess introduced her to Francis Hare-Naylor,[4] whom her father reluctantly invited to Twyford House.[6] The following day the young man was arrested for debt while driving in the Bishop's coach with Georgiana and her parents.[4]
The duchess settled an annuity of £200 on the young couple and with that they married, travelling first to Karlsruhe, and then to the north of Italy.[4][2] Georgiana devoted herself to painting and they settled in Bologna, where she formed a friendship with Clotilda Tambroni, Professor of Ancient Greek at the university there.[4] Georgiana was said to be fluent in Greek, which she taught her children.[6]
In 1792 she commissioned the artist and sculptor John Flaxman to create illustrations for Homer's books The Iliad and The Odyssey.[7] Flaxman's sister was the artist Maria Flaxman, governess to the Hare-Naylor children.[4]
In 1797 her father-in-law died and the Hare-Naylors set off for England, leaving three of their children in the care of Professor Tambroni and Father Emmanuele Aponte, a Spanish Jesuit priest. They appointed Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti as tutor to their eldest son.[4] This was thought an odd decision but Georgiana took her own counsel and her eldest attributed his love of learning to the time he spent with these scholars.[6]
The Hare-Naylors settled at Herstmonceux Castle. Her husband's principles made enemies, and he rejected a baronetcy. From 1799, when the Hare-Naylors sent for their children, life became a financial struggle, requiring support from the now-widowed Lady Jones.[4]
In 1803 Georgiana Hare-Naylor began a large series of pictures representing the Castle as it had appeared before the demolitions. She finished her work, but then lost her sight. In the following year the Hare-Naylors went to reside at Weimar, where the reigning duchess was on good terms with the family.[4] Georgiana was able to enjoy the company of leading scholars including Schiller and Goethe, but her health was failing.[6]
On Easter Sunday, 1806, Georgiana Hare-Naylor died at Lausanne,[8] leaving her children to the care of Lady Jones, her eldest sister. Her husband never returned to Herstmonceux, and in 1807 he sold the estate.[4]
There is a poignant memorial to her at Herstmonceux which shows her on her death bed entrusting her only daughter, Anna Maria Clemintina,[6] then about seven years old, to her sister. The work is credited to "a Danish artist, pupil of Thorwaldsen" (presumably Bertel Thorvaldsen, mainly known as a sculptor).
