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THE LOST ROMANCE OF ELIZABETH LINLEY /
Renowned for her beauty, talent and dramatic love life, Elizabeth Linley secures her enduring fame with a show-stopping portrait.
An animation by Leo Crane
Music by The Unrecorded
Produced by Daniel Alexander and Harvey & Allison McGrath
Associate Producer: Ingrid Beazley
Made with the support of The Animation Workshop's Open Residency & AniDox:Lab
Read about the making of the animation and a full list of credits here.
UK | 2.5 mins | 2015
Elizabeth Linley was painted throughout her life, both in fashionable portraits and as a model. The Linley family had a particularly close relationship with Thomas Gainsborough, who would satisfy his passion for music at their home, painting the family formally and informally, with a notable fondness for Eliza. She posed for Joshua Reynolds, who immortalised her both as St Cecilia (the patron saint of music) and as an embodiment of Charity. She was literally a Muse for Richard Samuel in a multiple portrait that shows the most influential women of the day.
Here you can visit the paintings online or plan a trip to the public collections where she now sits. Please also enjoy the film that takes you through the portraits chronologically.
Stik finds the human essence in Dulwich's old master paintings
In 1772, Thomas Gainsborough captured the young Elizabeth Linley with her sister Mary in a portrait of intimate friendship. Over 200 years later, the renowned international street artist Stik strips away their fashionable attire to highlight this essential relationship. Ingrid Beazley, founder of Dulwich Outdoor Gallery and author of Street Art Fine Art, explains his approach.
Elizabeth Linley was a fashion icon. The Fashion Museum, Bath, has a pre-eminent collection of late Georgian style, including this mantua that may have been Eliza's 'coming out' dress. Read more on the Linley Mantua and Georgian Fashion here.
THE LOST ROMANCE OF ELIZABETH LINLEY
WATERSTONES, TOTTENHAM COURT RD, LONDON
31.03.16, 7PM
It was standing room only for an entertaining evening of animation, paintings, street art, theatre and fashion inspired by the mesmerising Elizabeth Linley with Leo Crane, Ian Dejardin, Ingrid Beazley, Stik and Brighton Theatre. Contagious delirium? Read all about it here.