Isabella Wolff
Sir Thomas Lawrence (English, 1769-1830)1803–15
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Materials & printing
Archival matte paper, 189 g/m² (10.3 mil), sourced from Japan, printed with multicolor water-based inkjet so every brushstroke stays crisp. Framed prints arrive ready to hang in a .75″ ayous-wood frame with an acrylite front. Sized to standard frames by cropping, never stretching — at most about 3% comes off one edge, which isn’t noticeable on most pieces, and we only offer a size when it stays that small.
Shipping & returns
Made to order and delivered in 5–8 business days (2–4 to print, 3–4 in transit). US shipping only for now. Because each print is made for your order, all sales are final — but if it arrives damaged or defective, send us a photo within 14 days and we’ll replace it free. Full policy.
Why is it this affordable?
A thin, flat margin on every piece — just enough to keep the store running. Most of what you pay is the print itself. We only sell sizes that reproduce at full quality, and we don’t mark up the large sizes the way most shops do.
About this work
Produced over the course of 12 years, this portrait depicts Isabella Wolff, one of Sir Thomas Lawrence’s most intimate friends, contemplating a printed image of the Delphic Sibyl from Michelangelo’s famous Sistine Chapel ceiling. Wolff’s serpentine pose cleverly echoes another Sibyl from that same work. The Sibyls were priestesses of Classical legend who made enigmatic judgments and prophecies. They were often pictured according to Western fantasies of the Near East, hence Wolff’s elaborate turban here. Lawrence was famed for his ability to evoke the surface effects and textures of clothing; that talent is on full display in Wolff’s shimmering satin gown.
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 128.2 × 102.4 cm (50 1/2 × 40 5/16 in.)
Museum record · 4 owners · 11 exhibitions
Provenance
- Commissioned by the sitter’s sister, Mrs. Walter (Clarissa) Hill, The Rocklands, near Goodrich, Herefordshire, 1802 or 1803; possibly given to her by the artist, 1815; by descent to her son, the Rev.
- Walter Henry Hill (died 1867); on loan to his sister, Mrs. Robert (Isabella) Coke (died 1870), South Lodge, Newland, Gloucestershire, 1846-70; by descent to the Rev.
- Hill’s son, Walter Guy Hill (died 1906), Monmouth; probably sold between 1904 and 1906.
- Mrs. W. W. Kimball (died 1921), Chicago by 1920; on loan to the Art Institute in 1920-21; bequeathed to the Art Institute, 1922.
Exhibitions
- London, Royal Academy, The Exhibition of the Royal Academy, 1815.
- Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum, Exhibition of Eighteenth Century English, May 5–19, 1930.
- The Art Institute of Chicago, Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, June 1–November 1, 1933.
- The Art Institute of Chicago, Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, June 1–November 1, 1934.
- Columbus, Ohio, Gallery of Fine Arts, Sir Thomas Lawrence as Painter and Collector, October 7–November 13, 1955.
- Worcester, Mass., Art Museum, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Regency Painter: A Loan Exhibition of His Portraits, April 27–June, 1960.
- London, Royal Academy of Arts, Royal Academy of Arts Bicentenary Exhibition, 1768–1968, December 14, 1968–March 2, 1969.
- The Art Institute of Chicago, European Portraits 1600–1900 in The Art Institute of Chicago, July 8–September 11, 1978.
- London, National Portrait Gallery, Sir Thomas Lawrence 1769-1830, November 9-March 16, 1980, cat 29.
- New Haven, Yale Center for British Art, Sir Thomas Lawrence: Portraits of an Age, 1790-1830, February 27-April 25, 1993; Forth Worth, TX, Kimbell Art Museum, May 15-July 11, 1993; Richmond, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, July 31-September 26, 1993.
- National Portrait Gallery, London, Thomas Lawrence: Regency, Power, & Brilliance, October 21, 2010- January 23, 2011; Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, February 24- June 5, 2011..
