16. Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815)
after Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830)
Miss Farren

(click on image to print)
Bartolozzi, Miss Farren

Miss Farren

Stipple engraving, 1791-2, 554 x 355 mm., Le Blanc 12, Calabi 1075 iv(?)/vi. Fine proof impression with the address of the publisher, Bull & Jeffreyes, and the date 1792, but before the title, printed in sepia on laid paper with good margins; paper toned in the area of the old mat opening and minor tears and thin spots in the margins. The work, though begun by one of Bartolozzi’s assistants, is generally considered his masterpiece, and the original oil painting, done before Lawrence had reached his twenty-first birthday, was a first step in establishing him as the primary portrait painter in Britain. Elizabeth Farren (1759-1829) was, of necessity, an actress from the age of nine, coming from an Irish family impoverished by the early death of her father. Later, she became the foremost comic actress in England, interpreting roles from Shakespeare to Sheridan. She retired in 1797 and became the wife of the Earl of Derby, whom she had known for years (see the next print). The previous Countess of Derby died in March of 1797, precipitating both the marriage and the retirement.