Art Funded by you

Portrait Miniature of Mary Pearson

William Wood, 1798

This miniature created by the fashionable portrait painter William Wood shows a likeness of Mary Pearson, a pivotal figure in the family history and work of writer Jane Austen.

In 1795 or 1796, Mary became engaged to Jane’s elder brother, Henry, an officer in the Oxford Militia. Jane’s letters to her sister Cassandra record that she met her brother’s fiancée in Kent during the summer of1796. ‘If Miss Pearson should return with me, pray be careful not to expect too much Beauty,’ she wrote.

Henry soon broke off the engagement, but Jane stayed in touch with Mary until1799. Wood’s fee book records that this portrait was painted in 1798, probably representing Mary’s re-entry into society as a marriageable woman.

Jane Austen’s House Museum holds an unparalleled collection of objects relating to the author, including letters, furniture and jewellery. There are several portraits of her male relatives, but relatively few of female friends or family.

As a likeness of a young woman known to Jane, this painting now has an important place in the collection. An added interest is that Mary Pearson, a pretty girl who jumped into a short-lived engagement with a dashing young soldier, may have been an inspiration for the character of Lydia Bennet in Pride and Prejudice. While this cannot be proved, it is known that Jane began working on the novel around autumn 1796, during the time of Mary and Henry’s doomed engagement.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Portrait Miniature of Mary Pearson, 1798

Date supported

2020

Medium and material

Watercolour on ivory

Dimensions

9.1 x 7.5

Total cost

7616

Content note: This object record is part of our archive and has not been updated since it was first published. It may contain inaccurate information or outdated language. Please get in touch if you think this record should be amended.

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