867329

Portrait of a Sarah Siddons #867329

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:50.00 USD Estimated At:0.00 USD
Portrait of a Sarah  Siddons #867329
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Portrait of Sarah Siddons after Sir Thomas Lawrence</em></td>
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1755?1831, English actress

Perhaps the most famous actress that England has ever produced lived at Guy's Cliffe from 1771-1773. She was employed at £10 a year, by Lady Mary Greatheed, the widow of Samuel Greatheed MP for Coventry (ob. 1765). She was engaged at the time to the actor William Siddons, and named Sarah Kemble before her marriage to William on November the 26th, 1773 in Coventry; she was 18 years of age. Bertie Greatheed, who was to accompany Napoleon in Europe, was 11 at the time and lived in the house. Sarah was employed as a maid, though family records suggest that she was also a prized 'reader' to the family. This meant that she would have helped with the education of Bertie Greatheed, and read to the lady of the house. It is noted that she would read Milton and Shakespeare, and even at that young age she already was a 'queenly looking dependent'. The house at the time is described as being a natural haven of tranquility and beauty, the Rev. Richard Jargo, wrote:


'Here the calm scene lulls the tempestuous breast,
To sweet composure'.



The two years that Sarah spent as a young maid in the house would not have been unpleasant. She accompanied the lady on recorded trips to other stately homes, and, no doubt, the extensive library, and the preponderance of grand painting for which Guys was famous, made a lasting impression on the aspiring and talented actress at the beginning of her burgeoning and brilliant career.
Brought to the attention of David Garrick, ...
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<td>Reference
#: 2712</td>
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<tr><td>Condition:Good Overall Condition</td></tr>
<tr><td>Year:C.1800</td></tr>
<tr><td>Country:UK</td></tr>
<tr><td>Maker:After Sir Thomas Lawrence RPA </td></tr>
<tr><td>Height:30.0</td></tr>

<tr><td>Width:25.0</td></tr>

<tr><td>Title:Portrait of a Sarah Siddons</td></tr>

<tr><td>Materials:Oil on Canvas</td></tr>
<tr><td>Type:Oil on Canvas</td></tr>
<tr><td>Location:london uk</td></tr>
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