Frances Richards (or Frances Richards Rowley, or Frances Elswood Richards) (1852–1934) was a Canadian painter who grew up in Canada and lived, during the latter part of her life, in England. Her portrait of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

may have inspired him to write ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical fiction, philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''Th ...

''. Frances Richards was born in

Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with Le ...

, Ontario, the daughter of Albert Norton Richards, who was later the

Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the viceregal representative of the , in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in ...

. In 1888 she married William Edwin Rowley in London. Richards studied in Paris at the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the numbe ...

. In Paris she made friends with the Russian painter

Marie Bashkirtseff Marie Bashkirtseff (born Mariya Konstantinovna Bashkirtseva, russian: Мария Константиновна Башки́рцева; 1858–1884) was a Ukrainian artist from the Russian Empire who worked in Paris, France. She died aged 25. Li ...

(1858–1884), who painted her portrait. Richards returned to Canada and in 1881 became an associate of the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor Genera ...

and director of the Ottawa School of Art. Richards exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

in 1883.

In 1882 Richards met the Irish writer

in Ottawa. He visited her studios and wrote a

letter of introduction ''Letter of Introduction'' is a 1938 American comedy-drama film directed by John M. Stahl. In 1966, the film entered the public domain in the United States because the claimants did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after p ...

for her to the American artist

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading p ...

, who was living in London. In 1887 Richards moved to London where she renewed her acquaintance with Wilde and painted his portrait, on which he commented ''"What a tragic thing it is, this portrait will never grow old and I shall"''. This may have been the inspiration for Wilde's famous novel ''

''.

Richards was a close friend of the journalist and art critic

Robbie Ross Robert Baldwin Ross (25 May 18695 October 1918) was a Canadian-British journalist, art critic and art dealer, best known for his relationship with Oscar Wilde, to whom he was a devoted friend and literary executor. A grandson of the Canadian ...

, who like Richards was a Canadian living in England. Ross was a close friend of Oscar Wilde, and was his

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed w ...

. Richards was known for her portrait paintings. Her portrait of her uncle William Buell Richards, the first

Chief Justice of Canada The chief justice of Canada (french: juge en chef du Canada) is the presiding judge of the nine-member Supreme Court of Canada, the highest judicial body in Canada. As such, the chief justice is the highest-ranking judge of the Canadian court sy ...

, still hangs in the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to ...

building in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. A portrait by Richards is in the collection of the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the ...

. Richards died in

Glassonby Glassonby is a small village and civil parish in the Eden Valley of Cumbria, England, about south south east of Kirkoswald. At the 2001 census the parish had a population of 314, decreasing marginally to 308 at the 2011 Census. There is a m ...

, Cumberland, England on 26 November 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Frances 1852 births 1934 deaths Canadian women painters Members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts Canadian portrait painters