Margaret Sarah Carpenter (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Geddes; 1793 – 13 November 1872) was an English painter. Noted in her time, she mostly painted portraits in the manner of Sir

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

. She was a close friend of

Richard Parkes Bonington Richard Parkes Bonington (25 October 1802 – 23 September 1828) was an English Romantic landscape painter. He moved to France at the age of 14 and can also be considered as a French artist, and an intermediary bringing aspects of English styl ...

Early life

Carpenter was born in

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, the daughter of Captain Alexander Geddes, who was of an Edinburgh family, and Harriet Easton. She was taught art by a local drawing-master. Her first art studies were made from the pictures at

Longford Castle Longford Castle is a Grade I listed country house on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. History In 1573 Thomas Gorges ...

, belonging to the

Earl of Radnor Earl of Radnor, of the County of Radnor, is a title which has been created twice. It was first created in the Peerage of England in 1679 for John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes, a notable political figure of the reign of Charles II. The earldo ...

Career

Henrietta Carpenter by Margaret Sarah Carpenter

In 1812, one of Carpenter's copies of the head of a boy was awarded a medal by the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

, who awarded her another medal in 1813, and a gold medal in 1814. She went to London in 1814, and soon established her reputation as a fashionable

portrait painter Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commissio ...

. She exhibited a portrait of Lord Folkestone at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1814, and a picture entitled 'The Fortune Teller' at the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it ...

. She exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1818 and 1866. Her painting ''The Lacemaker'' was on display at the 1857 Manchester Art Treasures exhibition. She also exhibited at the British Institution and at the

Suffolk Street Gallery The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

. Of Carpenter's ''Head of a Polish Jew'', exhibited at the British Institution in 1823, a reviewer wrote: "It very rarely happens that a specimen of art like this is produced from the hand of a lady: Here are colour, light, strength and effect, and anatomical drawing". The painting was bought for 45 guineas by the

Marquess of Stafford A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

, an influential art patrons, who had previously bought her medal-winning painting of 1813. In December 2013 the picture resurfaced at auction (with some fire damage) and was purchased by a family relative for restoration. Among Carpenter's exhibited portraits were those of Sir H. Bunbury (1822), Lady Denbigh (1831), and Lady King (better known as

Ada Lovelace Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (''née'' Byron; 10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852), also known as Ada Lovelace, was an English mathematician and writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-pur ...

) (1835). Her last work was a portrait of

William Whewell William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved distinction in both poetry and mathematics. The breadth of Whewell's endeavours is ...

. Three of her works are in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

collection in London, including portraits of her husband, Bonington and the sculptor John Gibson. There are also several '

leaving portrait Leaving or Leavin' may refer to: Film, theatre and television * ''Leaving'' (TV series), a 1984–1985 UK series featuring Keith Barron and Susan Hampshire * ''Leaving'' (1997 film), a Japanese film starring Kotomi Kyono * ''Leaving'' (play) ...

s' by her in the collection at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. Her portrait of 'The 2nd Lord de Tabley in Academic Robes' hangs in the dining room at

Tabley House Tabley House is an English country house in Tabley Inferior (Nether Tabley), some to the west of the town of Knutsford, Cheshire. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I Listed building#Engl ...

. There is also one of her portraits at Frewen College, of Helen Louisa Frewen and her son Edward. Her "Portrait of a Lady" hangs in the Neill-Cochran House Museum in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. Her portraits follow in the tradition of Lawrence, but Wood found them to be more fanciful and feminine character, particularly in her portraits of children.

Family

In 1817, she married William Hookham Carpenter, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum. Their children included two noted painters, another

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and Percy Carpenter, who both travelled and painted in the Indian subcontinent.The Golden Temple at Amritsar
William Carpenter, Feb. 1854, Victoria and Albert Museum, ref IS.50–1882, accessed July 2010 She introduced her sister Harriet to the young painter

William Collins William Collins may refer to: Arts * William Collins (poet) (1721–1759), English poet * William Collins (painter) (1788–1847), English landscape artist * William Lucas Collins (1815–1887), English author and clergyman of the Church of Engla ...

. They eventually married, making Margaret the aunt to

Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1860), a mystery novel and early sensation novel, and for ''The Moonsto ...

, novelist and friend to

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

.''The King of Inventors''. Catherine Peters On her husband's death in 1866, she was given an annual pension of £100 by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. This award was partly based on her husband's service, but also in recognition of her own artistic merits. She died in London on 13 November 1872, in her 80th year, and was buried with her husband on the western side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

. The grave (plot no.14768) no longer has a headstone. Their daughter Henrietta was buried in the same grave in 1895.

Gallery

File:William Hookham Carpenter by Margaret Sarah Carpenter (née Geddes).jpg, William Hookham Carpenter, 1816 File:Charles William Doyle.png, Sir Charles William Doyle, 1824 File:Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793-1872) - Henry Hoare (1784–1836) - 732210 - National Trust.jpg,

Henry Hoare Henry Hoare II (1705–1785), known as Henry the Magnificent, was an English banker and garden owner-designer. Family Henry's grandfather, Richard Hoare, was a goldsmith-banker and Lord Mayor of London. His father, Henry Hoare I, bought th ...

, 1829 File:Richard Parkes Bonington by Margaret Sarah Carpenter (née Geddes).jpg, ''

Portrait of Richard Parkes Bonington ''Portrait of Richard Parkes Bonnington'' is a portrait painting by the English artist Margaret Sarah Carpenter, from ''c.'' 1827-1830. It depicts her fellow artist Richard Parkes Bonington. Bonington painted landscape painting, landscapes and c ...

'', c.1830 File:Margaret Sarah Carpenter Portrait of Harriet Countess Howe.jpg, '' Portrait of Countess Howe'', 1834 File:Ada LovelaceFXD.jpg, '' Portrait of Ada Lovelace'', 1836 File:Henrietta Carpenter by Margaret Sarah Carpenter.jpg, Henrietta Carpenter, 1839 File:A Mother and Child).jpg, A mother and a child, 1841 File:John Bird Sumner by Margaret Sarah Carpenter (née Geddes).jpg,

John Bird Sumner John Bird Sumner (25 February 1780 – 6 September 1862) was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury. Early life John Bird Sumner was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, on 25 February 1780. He was the eldest son of the Re ...

, 1852 File:John Gibson by Margaret Sarah Carpenter (née Geddes).jpg, ''

Portrait of John Gibson ''Portrait of John Gibson'' is an 1857 portrait painting by the British artist Margaret Sarah Carpenter, one of the most prominent female painters in early Victorian Britain. It depicts the sculptor John Gibson, a member of the Royal Academy. ...

'', 1857

Notes

References

*''

The Art Journal ''The Art Journal'' was the most important British 19th-century magazine on art. It was founded in 1839 by Hodgson & Graves, print publishers, 6 Pall Mall, with the title ''Art Union Monthly Journal'' (or ''The Art Union''), the first issue of 7 ...

'', 1873 p. 6 *Bryan, Michael, ''Dictionary of Painters and Engravers'', 1903 *Clayton, E. C., ''English Female Artist, Volume 1'' p. 386, 1876 *Ormond, R., ''Early Victorian Portraits'', HMSO, 2 vols, 1973 *

Redgrave, Samuel Samuel Redgrave (3 October 1802, London - 20 March 1876 London) was an English civil servant and writer on art. Life He was the eldest son of William Redgrave, and brother of Richard Redgrave, and was born at 9 Upper Eaton Street, Pimlico, London ...

, ''A Dictionary of Artists of the English School'', 1878 * Shaw Sparrow, W., ''

Women Painters of the World ''Women Painters of the World, from the time of Caterina Vigri, 1413–1463, to Rosa Bonheur and the present day'', assembled and edited by Walter Shaw Sparrow, is a book that lists an overview of prominent women painters up to 1905, the year of ...

'', pp. 60, 66, 96. 100, 1905

External links

*
National Portrait Gallery - Margaret Sarah Carpenter (née Geddes)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Margaret 1793 births 1872 deaths 19th-century English painters Burials at Highgate Cemetery English people of Scottish descent English portrait painters People from Salisbury Principal Painters in Ordinary Collins family (England) 19th-century English women painters