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#225: By Aimee Ng, Curator Transcript

The daughter of a blacksmith, this young woman was known by several names during her life: Amy Lyons or Lyon, Emma Hart, and Lady Hamilton. In her late teens, she became the mistress of the Honorable Charles Greville, who commissioned this painting from Romney, in 1782. At the time, the artist was seeking a new muse, and he was captivated by Emma’s beauty. This would be the first of some twenty paintings he would paint of her. They were not always portraits in the strict sense: she served as the model for a series of characters and themes, created by Romney with the goal of commercial success.

Pictured here about age seventeen, Emma was sent away to Naples, Italy, by her lover, who was then seeking a wealthy wife for himself. He encouraged her to become the mistress of his uncle, the much older widower Sir William Hamilton, British ambassador to Naples, whom she married, in 1791, to become Lady Hamilton. In Naples, she became a fixture of elite social circles and was celebrated for her classically inspired “attitudes,” theatrical performances of various expressions and personas. She also met the prominent British military figure Lord Horatio Nelson, with whom she had a child. Sadly, Lady Hamilton died destitute in Calais, in 1815.

Here, her expression of innocence is enhanced by the sweet dog cradled at her side. In contrast to the contemporary portraits of wealthy, socially elite women—with their powdered wigs and extremely white, make-up-covered faces—Romney portrays Emma like an allegorical figure, with loose, dark hair, unbounded by the social strictures of her day. A print reproducing the painting, published two years later, bore the title “Nature,” by which this painting has since been known.

Lady Hamilton as "Nature"

 (British, 1734–1802)
Date1782
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions29 7/8 x 24 3/4 in. (75.9 x 62.9 cm)
Credit LineHenry Clay Frick Bequest
Accession number1904.1.103
Commentary

Emma Hart (1765–1815) was a woman of great beauty and charm who rose from humble origins to international fame. Charles Greville, whose mistress she was and who commissioned this portrait, educated her in music and literature, and Greville's uncle, Sir William Hamilton, British ambassador to Naples, brought her to Italy, where they were married. There she entertained company with her “attitudes” — a kind of Romantic aesthetic posturing achieved with the aid of shawls and classical draperies. Emma attracted the attention of Lord Horatio Nelson, with whom she had a notorious romantic liaison until his death at the Battle of Trafalgar. Although she inherited money from both Hamilton and Nelson, her extravagance led her into debt, and she died in poverty. This portrait was the first of more than twenty that Romney painted of his “divine lady,” many in the guise of characters from history, mythology, and literature.

Source: Art in The Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts, New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996.

Collection History

The Hon. Charles Greville, London. Sir William Hamilton. His sale, March 27, 1801, Christie’s, Lot 30, sold to Lister Parker. Bought for 50 guineas in 1816 or 1818 by W.R.H. Fawkes, of Farnley Hall, Otley, Yorkshire.6 His heir, Francis Hawksworth Fawkes, of Farnley. Ayscough Fawkes. Sold by his descendent, F.H. Fawkes. C.J. Wertheimer. E. Cronier, Paris.7 Knoedler. Frick, 1904.

Source: Paintings in The Frick Collection: American, British, Dutch, Flemish and German. Volume I. New York: The Frick Collection, 1968.

Not On View
Oil painting of woman wearing black dress standing
George Romney
1788–92
Oil painting of woman looking to side wearing white dress
George Romney
1780–83
Oil painting of sitting woman wearing a gray and white dress
George Romney
1788
oil painting of a young Virgin Mary and her mother reading scripture by candlelight
Studio of Georges de La Tour
ca. 1650
Oil painting of woman in blue dress holding flower
Thomas Gainsborough
ca. 1757
oil painting of woman wearing a black dress with gold jewelry and holding a closed gray fan
Francisco de Goya y Lucientes
1824
Oil painting of standing woman wearing white and pink dress
James McNeill Whistler
1881–82
Oil painting of a woman sitting in white dress
Joshua Reynolds
1787
Oil painting of woman in white dress sitting
Joshua Reynolds
ca. 1780
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