Object Image

Mrs Henry Evans Gordon

Mrs Henry Evans Gordon née Mary (May) Sartoris, was the daughter of celebrated soprano Adelaide Kemble Sartoris. Leighton first met the Sartoris family in Rome in 1853 and kept up a close friendship with Adelaide Sartoris until her death in 1879. Leighton painted several portraits of May, of which this is the last. She is shown here wearing ‘aesthetic dress,’ which was a style of historicised loose-fitting clothing popular among the artistic upper classes in the late 19th century....
1877
Oil on canvas
121.0 x 127.0cm
LH0419
Image and text © The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, 2020.

Where you'll find this

Leighton House
Permanent collection