Lady Emma Hamilton

LIST OF ROMNEY’S PAINTINGS OF EMMA:

• "Emma Hart as Nature" (1782)

• "Lady Hamilton as Circe" (1782)

• “Emma Hart in a Straw Hat” (1782)

• “The Spinstress” (1784)

• "Emma Hart as Ariadne" ( 1785)

• "Emma Hart as Miranda" ( 1785)

• "Emma Hart as Sensibility" (1787)

• "Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante" (1787)

• "Emma Hart as a Bacchante" (1784-1786)

• "Emma Hart as a Bacchante" (1786)

• "Lady Hamilton as a Sibyl" (1786-1788)

• "Emma Hart as a Bacchante" (1787)

• "Emma Hart as St. Cecilia" (1788)

• "Emma Hart as Cassandra" (1788-1790)

• "Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante" (1790-1791)

• "Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante" (1790-1791)

• "Emma Hart as Circe" (c. 1792)

• "Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante" (1792)

• "Emma Hart as Miranda" (1792)

• "Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante" (1792)

LIST OF PORTRAITS OF EMMA BY OTHER ARTISTS:

Joshua Reynolds

• “Lady Hamilton as Nature” by Joshua Reynolds (c. 1782)

• “Lady Hamilton as Sensibility” by Joshua Reynolds (c. 1782)

• “Lady Hamilton as Contemplation” by Joshua Reynolds (c. 1782)

• “Lady Hamilton as Bacchante” by Joshua Reynolds (c. 1785)

Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

• "Lady Hamilton as Ariadne" by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (c. 1790)

• "Lady Hamilton as Sensibility" by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (c. 1791)

• "Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante" by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (c. 1791

Angelica Kauffman

• “Portrait of Lady Hamilton” by Angelica Kauffman (c. 1791)

Listen to ArtMuse’s two part episode on Lady Emma Hamilton. Born into severe poverty, Emma Hamilton worked her way to eventually become England’s first female celebrity.

Her life story is so unfathomable, that it almost sounds like a riveting work of fiction. In it, we are taken from the filthy streets of London’s back alleys, to England’s fashionable countryside, to the dazzling royal courts of Naples. Emma’s path crossed with some of the greatest names of eighteenth century history, from George Romney and Joshua Reynolds, to General Horatio Nelson, to even Marie Antoinette.

Her story is a tale of hope, grandeur, everlasting love, and devastating heartbreak. 

Listen to ArtMuse’s two part episode on Lady Emma Hamilton:

This episode is produced by Kula Production Company.

REFERENCES

Hardwick, Mollie. Emma, Lady Hamilton: The Wife and the Mistress. Sapere Books, 2023.

Williams, Kate, and Sophie Ward. England’s Mistress: The Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton. RH AudioGo, 2011.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

“Cocktails with a Curator: Romney’s ‘Lady Hamilton as “Nature.”’” Cocktails with a Curator: Romney’s “Lady Hamilton as ‘Nature’” | The Frick Collection, 30 Oct. 2020.

IMAGES

An image of Jane Powell, who Emma met as a young maid. Painting by Samuel De Wilde.

A drawing of Convent Garden in London from 1720, where Emma worked briefly as a wardrobe assistant.

A caricature portrait from 1785 of James Graham, London’s first celebrity doctor, who Emma worked for briefly as a dancer.

Henry Fetherstonhaugh as a young man, Emma’s first protector and the father of her first daughter. Painting by Nathaniel Dance-Holland.

Portrait of Charles Greville, Emma’s second protector, and the man who connected her to George Romney. Portrait by Joshua Reynolds.

George Romney, shown in a self-portrait painted in 1795.

George Romney, Lady Hamilton as Nature, oil on cavnas, 1782.

George Romney, Lady Hamilton, as Circe, oil on canvas, 1782.

George Romney, Emma Hart in a Straw Hat, oil on canvas, 1782.

George Romney, The Spinstress, oil on canvas, 1784.

Sir William Hamilton, Emma Hamilton’s eventual husband, and uncle to Charles Greville.

George Romney, Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante, oil on canvas, 1785.

Pierre-Jacques Volaire, Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, 1777, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC, USA.

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Lady Hamilton as Ariadne, oil on canvas, 1790.

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante, oil on canvas, 1790.

Angelika Kauffmann, Lady Hamilton as Muse, oil on canvas, 1791.

Pietro Antonio Novelli, The Attitudes of Lady Hamilton, pen and brown ink on laid paper, 1791.

George Romney, Lady Hamilton as Ambassadress, oil on canvas, 1791.

Emile Antoine Bayard, Marie Antoinette locked up in the Conciergerie prison in Paris, engraving, date unknown.

Queen Maria Carolina of Naples. Portrait by Anton Raphael Mengs, 1768.

Marie Antoinette at her execution.

Portrait of Horatio Nelson by L. F. Abbott (1799)

Admiral Nelson und Lady Hamilton in Naples, Artist anonymous, painted in first half of 19th century.

Fanny Nelson, wife of Horatio Nelson, portrait of the British school, c. 1800.

Merton Place, the home Emma shared with Horatio Nelson.

Battle of Trafalgar, during which Horatio Nelson died.

An antique photograph of Horatia Nelson, Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson’s daughter.

Plaque in Calais, France, where Emma is believed to be buried.