Portrait of Maria Fitzherbert

Portrait of Maria Fitzherbert
Artist	Joshua Reynolds
Year	1788
Type	Oil on canvas, portrait
Dimensions	91.4 cm × 71.1 cm (36.0 in × 28.0 in)
Location	National Portrait Gallery, London

Portrait of Maria Fitzherbert is a 1788 portrait painting by the British artist Sir Joshua Reynolds.[1] [2]

The widowed Maria Fitzherbert had entered into a clandestine marriage with George, Prince of Wales in 1785. Although technically illegal due to the Royal Marriages Act, the couple lived together as husband and wife.[3] The issue of this secret earlier marriage became a potentially controversial issue when George entered a dynastic marriage with his cousin Caroline of Brunswick in 1796. Despite this and his numerous affairs, George remained emotionally attached to his earlier marriage and was buried with a miniature of Maria Fitzherbert in 1830.[4]

Reynolds was President of the Royal Academy when he painted Fitzherbert. Today the painting is on display in the National Portrait Gallery in London, having been lent from a private collection in 1976.[5]

See also

• Portrait of George IV, portrait by Thomas Lawrence of Maria Fitzherbert's husband

References

1. Baetjer p.188
2. McIntyre p.462
3. Black p.153
4. Garfield p.76
5. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw02239

Bibliography

• Baetjer, Katharine. British Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1575-1875. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009.
• Black, Jeremy. George III: America's Last King. Yale University Press, 2008.
• Garfield, Simon. In Miniature: How Small Things Illuminate the World. Simon and Schuster, 2019.
• Irvine, Valerie. The King's Wife: George IV and Mrs Fitzherbert. A&C Black, 2007.
• McIntyre, Ian. Joshua Reynolds: The Life and Times of the First President of the Royal Academy. Allen Lane, 2003.
• Millar, Stephen. Lust, Lies and Monarchy: The Secrets Behind Britain's Royal Portraits. Museyon, 2020
• Postle, Edward (ed.) Joshua Reynolds: The Creation of Celebrity. Harry N. Abrams, 2005.
• Schama, Simon. The Face of Britain: The Nation through Its Portraits. Penguin UK, 2015.