Georgiana Carolina Dashwood, Lady Hastings (1796 – 1835)
Henry William Pickersgill, RA (London 1782 – London 1875)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1826
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
895 x 692 mm (35 ¼ x 27 ¼ in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Seaton Delaval Hall, Northumberland
NT 1276802
Caption
Georgiana Dashwood was the second daughter of Sir Henry Watkin Dashwood, of Kirtlington Park, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, and Mary Helen, daughter of John Graham of Kinross. She married Jacob, 6th Bt., 16th Baron Hastings (1797 – 1859) in 1819. Both her sons succeeded to the title: Jacob Henry, 17th Baron (1822 – 71); and Delaval Loftus, 18th Baron (1825 – 72). She was perhaps most famous for cuckolding her husband. In 1835 she had a daughter, fathered by Thomas Garth. The affair was satirised in the press, but she died soon after the birth of the illegitimate child, aged 39. This portrait was exhibited at the Royal Academy in the same year as that of her husband (also by Pickersgill, and at Seaton Delaval). Pickersgill was one of the most sought after painters of the time.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Georgiana Carolina Dashwood, Lady Hastings (1796 – 1835) by Henry William Pickersgill, RA (London 1782 – London 1875), 1826. A three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing right, wearing a red dress with a yellow belt fastened with a brooch.
Full description
Second daughter of Sir Henry Watkin Dashwood, of Kirtlington Park, near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, and Mary Helen, daughter of John Graham of Kinross. She married Jacob, 6th Bt., 16th Baron Hastings (1797 – 1859) in 1819. Both her sons succeeded to the title: Jacob Henry, 17th Baron (1822 – 71); and Delaval Loftus, 18th Baron (1825 – 72). In 1835 she had a daughter, fathered by Thomas Garth. The affair was satirised in the press, but she died soon after the birth of the illegitimate child, aged 39. The portrait was exhibited at the RA in 1826, as 'Lady Astley', along with a companion picture of her husband.
Provenance
Accepted in lieu of tax by HM Treasury and transferred to the National Trust in 2009.
Credit line
Seaton Delaval, The Hastings Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Henry William Pickersgill, RA (London 1782 – London 1875), artist