| Portrait of Sarah Siddons | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Thomas Gainsborough |
| Year | 1785 |
| Type | Portrait painting |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 126 cm× 99.5 cm(50 in× 39.2 in) |
| Location | National Gallery, London |
Portrait of Sarah Siddons is a 1785 portrait painting by the English artist Thomas Gainsborough. It depicts the actress Sarah Siddons, a member of the theatrical Kemble family, and the leading tragedienne on the British stage of the era. [1]
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Both Gainsborough and Siddons had first made their names in Bath before moving to London. Siddons was frequently portrayed by artists during the period, including Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Lawrence. Unlike many of the other portraits which depict her in the role of one of characters, this work shows her as herself in the fashionable costume of the late eighteenth century. The work was not commissioned and was displayed at Schomberg House in London, as Gainsborough boycotted the Royal Academy following the Exhibition of 1784. It was owned for several decades by Siddons's family. Today the painting is in the collection of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, having been acquired by the gallery in 1862. [2] The painting inspired the logo of the film studio Gainsborough Pictures in the 1920s. [3]
