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Poet; highly regarded in her own day, her reputation now rests chiefly on Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850), and the long narrative poem, Aurora Leigh (1857); after eloping with the poet Robert Browning, she lived chiefly in Italy. Her portrait was painted as a companion piece to that of her husband. According to a label on the back of the frame, it was done 'expressly for Sophia May Eckley and pronounced by Robert Browning to be the best Portrait ever taken of the Poetess'; but at the time, Robert Browning was not convinced that it was a good likeness and wrote to Mrs Eckley that 'The portrait is not perfect certainly; the nose seems over long and there are some other errors in the face; also, the whole figure gives the idea of a larger woman than Ba'.
Title
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Date
1858
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 73.7 x W 58.4 cm
Accession number
1899
Acquisition method
Given by Florence Barclay, 1921
Work type
Painting
National Portrait Gallery, London
St Martin’s Place, London, Greater London WC2H 0HE England
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Richard Bethell (1800–1873), 1st Baron Westbury, Lord Chancellor Government Art Collection -
Lady Gertrude Lucia Egerton (1861–1943), Countess of Albemarle National Trust, Tatton Park -
Elizabeth Barrett Browning National Portrait Gallery, London -
Robert Browning National Portrait Gallery, London -
Richard Bethell, 1st Baron Westbury National Portrait Gallery, London -
Wilbraham Egerton (1832–1909), Earl & 2nd Baron Egerton of Tatton National Trust, Tatton Park -
Josephine Catherine Denise Carré (d.1907), Lady Reeve De la Pole National Trust, Shute Barton - 1 more
Stories
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Ten paintings of female poets in UK collectionsAna Sampson
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Bohemians revisited: deconstructing the myth of the museAlicia Foster