Portrait of Wilhelmina Bowlby
Williamina Martha Arnold Bowlby (née Balfour) (1798-1834), known as Martha, was a scion of one of Edinburgh’s most distinguished mercantile families, and a distant cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson. In 1817 she married Captain Thomas Bowlby (1790-1842) of the Royal Artillery in Gibraltar. The couple lived at Bishopwearmouth in County Durham where, after his military service, Captain Bowlby was active in the timber business. They had nine children.
This portrait was one of over 160 left unfinished in Lawrence's studio at the time of his death in 1830.
History note: By descent in the sitter's family to A. Bowlby Esq.; by whom sold, London, Christie's, 22 June 1979, lot 143, where purchased by another member of the family; thence by descent; sold, Sotheby's, 5 July 2018, lot 196
Allocated by H. M. Government under the Cultural Gifts Scheme. Given in honour of the architect and academic Professor Sir Colin Stansfield Smith CBE (1932-2013), 2020
Height: 67.3 cm
Method of acquisition: Allocated (2020) by H.M. Government
19th Century
Production date:
c.
AD 1825
: Garlick dated the painting to after 1820. The sitter’s jewellery, dress and hairstyle point to a date close to 1825.
Oil on canvas : Oil on canvas
Accession number: PD.28-2020
Primary reference Number: 287407
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Portrait of Wilhelmina Bowlby" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/287407 Accessed: 2024-11-24 18:12:51
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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/287407
|title=Portrait of Wilhelmina Bowlby
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-24 18:12:51|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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