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Proquest Dissertations Magnificence in Miniature: Considerations of Public and Private, Class and Gender in Miniature and Full- Size Portraits of Women in the Amherst Family, c. 1760-1810 by Adrienne Foster, B.A. (Hons.) A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Art History Carleton University OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada September 2009 © 2009, Adrienne Foster Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-60301-7 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-60301-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduce, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada Abstract This case study of eighteenth-century full-size and miniature portraits from the British Amherst family demonstrates that while the portrayed women fulfilled established gender roles within the upper class, they were not powerless. Rather than a paternalistic model that categorized gender roles according to a binary of domination and subordination, this study shows that gender relations could be subject to women's negotiations. This comparative analysis of the two formats of Amherst portraits explores how full-size and miniature portraits were used to represent upper class women both privately and publicly. The understanding of portrait miniatures as private became a strategic fiction when they were circulated and displayed publicly allowing the Amherst women to negotiate - without disturbing - established gender roles. This study proposes that portraiture participated in the Amherst women's experiences and negotiations of their socio-economic contexts as part of the social language. ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank, first and foremost, my advisor Randi Klebanoff for her guidance and for the inspired and thorough edits she made on this thesis. She constantly encouraged me to dig deeper and think harder and in doing so showed me intellectual abilities I never knew I had. I am indebted to a number of people and organizations that made my research possible. First, Yves Theoret, my supervisor at the Portrait Gallery of Canada introduced me to the Gallery's vast collection and encouraged me to research it. Elizabeth Baker, Director of the Mead Art Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts and her staff have been very helpful and generous with information. The staff at the Kent County Archives in Maidstone, England was equally helpful and enthusiastic about the project, helping me sift through huge amounts of primary material during a short visit. I am extremely grateful for the financial assistance for my studies provided by Carleton University and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. I am additionally thankful for the Graduate Student Research Bursary without which I would have been unable to do key research for this project in the U.K. Finally, the Friends of Art History Book Award was helpful for other costs associated with this project in addition to providing encouragement through the honour of its recognition. I also wish to acknowledge the professors and students in the Art History Department at Carleton University who made my experience in graduate studies a wonderful one. Without the words of encouragement, helpful suggestions, shoulders to cry on and ears to listen of Carly, Cortney, Curtis, Katy L, Katy M., Karla, and Wendy, I would not have been able to persevere. My residence friends, Christina Besner and Christine Brown also deserve special thanks for their support and friendship. My family, as usual, went above and beyond in their support of my studies. Kevin, my brother, generously lent me his beautiful home to relieve me periodically of my usual accommodations in residence. As the first member of the family to get a graduate degree he encouraged me through inspiration (and sibling rivalry) to pursue my master's degree in an area for which I was passionate, not necessarily for monetary gain. My mother Jean's visits, meals, cards of encouragement and unwavering confidence in my abilities were truly necessary support in this challenging undertaking. From the very beginning of my education she has taught me through example the importance of hard work, perseverance and drive. Finally, to the best writer I know, I dedicate this work to my father Robert in honour of the countless drafts he proofread and commented on with the perfect balance of constructive criticism and encouragement. iii Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii List of Figures v Introduction: Little Pictures and Shadows 1 Chapter One: "Public" and "Private" in Portraiture and Identity. 24 Chapter Two: Female Portraiture as a Carrier of Wealth and Status 54 Chapter Three: Women's Negotiations of Gender and the Fictions of Privacy. 94 Conclusion: Revisiting "Shadow". 132 Figures 138 Bibliography 160 iv List of Figures Figure 1. Joshua Reynolds. Elizabeth Carey Amherst, c. 1767. Oil on canvas. Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, Massachusetts. Figure 2. Allan Ramsay. Elizabeth Paterson Amherst, c.1766. Oil on canvas. Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, Massachusetts. Figure 3. Thomas Lawrence. Sarah Hickman Amherst. 1802. Oil on canvas. Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, Massachusetts. Figure 4. Amherst Family Tree. Figure 5. Unknown Artist, Elizabeth Carey Amherst (?). Late 18th century (?) Negative number C-112026. Watercolour on ivory. Library and Archives Canada (Portrait Gallery of Canada). Ottawa. Figure 6. Unknown artist. Possibly Elizabeth Carey Amherst, c. 1767(7). Negative number C-112025. Watercolour on ivory. Library and Archives Canada (Portrait Gallery of Canada). Ottawa. Figure 7. Unknown Artist. Elizabeth Paterson Amherst (?). N.d. Watercolour on ivory. Negative number C-112029. Library and Archives Canada (Portrait Gallery of Canada). Ottawa. Figure 7.1. Unknown Artist. Verso, Elizabeth Paterson Amherst (?). N.d. White beading on portrait miniature case. Library and Archives Canada (Portrait Gallery of Canada). Ottawa. Figure 8. Unknown artist. Sarah Hickman Amherst (?). 1740-1750 (?). Watercolour on ivory. Negative number C-112064. Library and Archives Canada (Portrait Gallery of Canada). Ottawa. Figure 9. Johann Zoffany. Queen Charlotte 1771. Oil on canvas. The Royal Collection, London. Figure 10. Charles Spooner, after Mary Benwell. The Studious Fair (possibly Queen Charlotte). 18th Century. Mezzotint. National Portrait Gallery, London. Figure 11. Graphic Representation of Habermas' Public and Private Spheres. Figure 12. Allan Ramsay. Anne Howard, c. 1768-69. Oil on canvas. Whereabouts unknown. v Figure 13. Allan Ramsay. Maria Walpole, Countess Waldegrave. c. 1765-66. Oil on canvas. Private Collection. Figure 14. Unknown artist. Montreal House, Kent. n.d. Kent County Archives. Maidstone, U.K. Figure 15. Joshua Reynolds. Jeffery Amherst, c. 1768. Oil on canvas. National Gallery of Canada. Ottawa. Figure 16. Unknown artist. Unnamed Room. 1830(7). Ink on paper. Kent County Archives. Maidstone, U.K. Figure 17. After Van Dyck. Frances Brydges, Wife of the second Earl of Exeter. Oil on canvas. Burghley House Collection, U.K. Figure 18. Attributed to Annibale Carracci. Christ and the Samaritan Woman. 1610. Engraving. Bologna Repository. Figures 19 and 20. John Russell. Dr Henry Peckwell and Mrs Peckwell. c.1774. Oil on canvas. Whereabouts unknown. Figure 21. Joshua Reynolds. Elizabeth Gunning, Duchess of Hamilton and Argyll. 1760. Oil on canvas, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, U.K. Figure 22. Joshua Reynolds. The Honourable Theresa Parker nee Robinson. 1770-2. Oil on canvas. Saltram, The Morley Collection. U.K. Figure 23. Joshua Reynolds. Mrs Siddons as the Tragic Muse. 1789. Oil on canvas. The Governors of Dulwich Picture Gallery, U.K. vi 1 Introduction: Little Pictures and Shadows "Kiss the little Picture - for my part I envy my own Shadow."1 On July 15th 1767 Elizabeth Paterson Amherst wrote this tender line as a postscript to a letter to her husband William Amherst who was in Scotland on a military mission. This small poetic request for her husband to kiss the portrait miniature (or her "Shadow") he kept with him captures my imagination in a way no work of fiction can. (This is not to say, however, that fiction does not play a part in this history.) Knowing the characters were real people and that images of them are available today inspired my further exploration. Elizabeth Paterson Amherst's use of the word "shadow," for instance, opens several interpretive possibilities.
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