Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball (Charlotte and Mary Williams-Wynn)

William Etty (1787 - 1849)

York Art Gallery

1833

York Art Gallery has the largest holding of works by the York born artist William Etty in any UK public collection. This work shows a new aspect of his portraiture. The majority of Etty's portraits depict friends or associates of the artist but this portrait was commissioned by an upper class patron, Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn MP, and is one of only a handful of society portraits painted by the artist. It depicts two of the patron's five daughters; the standing figure holds a ribbon and turns towards the viewer, as if she has been interrupted whilst making the final preparations to her sister's costume.

• Medium: oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 150.8 x 128.8cm
• Art Fund Grant: £40000 ( Total: £120,000)
• ArtFunded in: 2009
• Vendor: Private collection

Provenance

Commissioned by Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn; thence by decent to Mrs Lewis Motley; Christie's, 1982; private collection; through Tomasso Brothers.

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