| Portrait of Mary Robinson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Thomas Gainsborough |
| Year | 1781 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, portrait painting |
| Dimensions | 233.7 cm× 153 cm(92.0 in× 60 in) |
| Location | Wallace Collection, London |
Portrait of Mary Robinson is an 1781 portrait painting by the British artist Thomas Gainsborough. It depicts the actress and writer Mary Robinson. [1] Commissioned by her lover George, Prince of Wales, it depicts her as Perdita from The Winter's Tale Shown at full-length in a pastoral setting, Gainsborough may have referenced Perdita's abandonment by her royal lover, paralleling George's real-life dropping of Robinson as his mistress. [2] . Robinson may have been the most frequently depicted woman of the period along with Emma Hamilton. Lewis, [3]
The portrait was displayed at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1782 at Somerset House. However, Gainsborough withdrew It following criticism of it as poor likeness that was inferior to a portrait of Robinson by his rival Joshua Reynolds that was also on display. The painting is now in the Wallace Collection in Marylebone. In 1818 been given by George, by then Prince Regent to the Marquess of Hertford and then passed down through his descendants. [4] Another portrait of Robinson by George Romney, also exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1782 is also in the Wallace Collection. [5]
