Portrait of Mary Monckton
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| Portrait of Mary Monckton | |
|---|---|
_-_The_Hon._Miss_Monckton_-_N04694_-_National_Gallery.jpg) | |
| Artist | Joshua Reynolds |
| Year | c.1778 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, portrait painting |
| Dimensions | 147.3 cm × 240 cm (58.0 in × 94 in) |
| Location | Tate Britain, London |
Portrait of Mary Monckton is a c.1778 portrait painting by the British artist Joshua Reynolds.[1] [2] It depicts the aristocrat Mary Monckton, the only daughter of Viscount Galway. The painting was commissioned by Monckton herself, and reflects her unconventional demeanour with a mischievous posture.[3] She was known as a bluestocking and an associate of figures such as Edmund Burke, Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Sarah Siddons. She is shown accompanied by a pet King Charles spaniel.[4]
Later, after her marriage to the Anglo-Irish peer Edmund Boyle, 7th Earl of Cork, she became known as the Countess of Cork and became a celebrated society hostess of the Regency era. The painting is now in the collection of the Tate Britain, having been acquired by the nation in 1933.[5] A mezzotint based on the picture was produced by Johann Jacobé and a separate engraving by Samuel William Reynolds.[6]
