Carpenter, Margaret Sarah (1793-1872) - 1836 Ada Lovelace (National Physical Gallery, Teddington, U.K.)
Oil on canvas.
English painter. Encouraged by Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor, she established herself in London at the age of 20 after winning a Salisbury Society of Arts gold medal for a study of a boy's head. Regarded as 'the best woman portrait painter of her time' (Whitley, p. 162), she did portraits of many notable men, including Patrick Fraser Tytler (1845) and Archbishop Sumner (1852; both London, N.P.G.). Carpenter's work was admired for its artistic qualities, independent of the subject's identity. When she exhibited Head of a Polish Jew (untraced) at the British Institution in 1823, a reviewer wrote: 'It very rarely happens that a specimen of art like this is produced from the hand of a lady: here are colour, strength and effect, and anatomical drawing.' Carpenter exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1818 and 1866, as well as at the British Institution and the Society of Artists. Her output is estimated at 1000 paintings.
Carpenter, Margaret Sarah (1793-1872) - 1836 Ada Lovelace (National Physical Gallery, Teddington, U.K.)
Oil on canvas.
English painter. Encouraged by Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor, she established herself in London at the age of 20 after winning a Salisbury Society of Arts gold medal for a study of a boy's head. Regarded as 'the best woman portrait painter of her time' (Whitley, p. 162), she did portraits of many notable men, including Patrick Fraser Tytler (1845) and Archbishop Sumner (1852; both London, N.P.G.). Carpenter's work was admired for its artistic qualities, independent of the subject's identity. When she exhibited Head of a Polish Jew (untraced) at the British Institution in 1823, a reviewer wrote: 'It very rarely happens that a specimen of art like this is produced from the hand of a lady: here are colour, strength and effect, and anatomical drawing.' Carpenter exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1818 and 1866, as well as at the British Institution and the Society of Artists. Her output is estimated at 1000 paintings.