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ARTWORKS

A Young Woman Kneeling at a Prayer Desk

David Wilkie (1785–1841)

The National Gallery, London

A Young Woman Kneeling at a Prayer Desk

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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A young lady kneels before an altar on which two tall candles have been lit. Her hands are touched in prayer on a large open Bible, but we have interrupted her devotions and she turns to look at us. The writing in a Gothic script above the altarpiece is the first part of the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done.’ This small portrait, remarkably rich in colour and deft in its painterly technique, is reminiscent of an old master painting.

The portrait is believed to be of Lady Augusta Phipps, the 12-year-old daughter of the 1st Earl Mulgrave. Wilkie captures with great accuracy and delicacy the face of a young girl poised between childhood and adulthood. The picture has an added poignancy because it was painted in 1813, the year Lady Augusta died.

The National Gallery, London

London

Read more on The National Gallery, London
Title

A Young Woman Kneeling at a Prayer Desk

Date

1813

Medium

oil on mahogany

Measurements

H 34 x W 25.5 cm

Accession number

NG6650

Acquisition method

purchased with the support of a generous legacy from Miss Marcia Lay, 2014

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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Artist or maker

David Wilkie

1785–1841

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