Portrait of Jane Hoskyns
c. 1778–1780
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
unframed: 69.8 × 59 cm · framed: 102 × 89 × 10.5 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
Accession Number
1916.1041
Tags
About this artwork
The sitter married Sir John Read in 1774, who also sat for a portrait by the artist in 1788. Born in Lancashire, Romney first apprenticed in his father’s cabinetmaker’s shop. He worked in the north of England until 1762, when he settled in London. There he became a successful portraitist, alongside Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough. As with many successful portraitists, his heart lay elsewhere and he dreamed of making history paintings, but his plans for grandiose compositions rarely advan...