Portrait of Mary Anne Jolliffe

Also known as: Mrs. Thomas Joliffe

About the Artwork

The only assistant his famous uncle ever had, Gainsborough Dupont apprenticed with Thomas Gainsborough before setting up his own studio. It is often difficult to distinguish the late works of both artists. This painting is among Dupont’s best portraits. He captures the beauty of his sitter with soft, flickering brushstrokes, detailing her frilly collar and impressive hairstyle, curled and powdered according to the current style. This portrait originally hung alongside that of her husband Thomas in the drawing room of the couple’s home, Ammerdown House in Somerset, where Thomas’s portrait still hangs today.

Provenance

after 1788-1824: the sitter, Mary Anne Jolliffe, née Twyford [1756-1802], and Thomas Samuel Jolliffe [1746-1824], Ammerdown House, Somerset, by descent to William Jolliffe William Jolliffe, Esq., Ammerdown House, Somerset, by descent to Lord Hylton ?-1911: Lord Hylton, Ammerdown Park, Somerset, sold to A.G. Temple Mr. A.G. Temple by 1912: (Arthur J. Sulley, London) 1912-?: (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, sold to John L. Severance) ?-1936: John L. Severance [1863-1936], Cleveland, OH, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1942-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Exhibition of the John L. Severance Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 12, 1942-March 14, 1943). Anglo-Saxon Tradition. Kenyon College, Gambier, OH (October 1-15, 1946). Style, Truth and the Portrait. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 19, 1963). British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.

Quick Overview

Artist: Gainsborough Dupont (British, 1754–1797)
Date: after 1788
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: Unframed: 75.5 x 63.5 cm (29 3/4 x 25 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: European Painting and Sculpture
Credit line: Bequest of John L. Severance
Accession no.: 1942.640

Open-access museum record · AT-00009238