Frances Anne "Fanny" Kemble
ca. 1833
Medium
Painting-Miniature
Classification
Painting-Miniature
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Henry Du Pré Bounetheau
Accession Number
1946.3.18
Tags
About this artwork
Frances Anne âFannyâ Kemble (1809-1893) was a noted actress, and this miniature is a copy after a painting of her made by Thomas Sully. Sully painted Kemble thirteen times, and in this pose she appears in character as Beatrice from Shakespeareâs play Much Ado About Nothing. Kemble married Philadelphian Pierce Butler in 1834, but their marriage ended in divorce a few years later after frequent clashes over the issue of slavery. Conservation of this miniature was made possible through a gene...