Nevertheless some of the ladies of fashion produced work of skill and merit, and were recognized for their ability.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCW6qA0NqQWbQK8jyRfcrJrEdsqgwDr_Ay3jrt329jtskS-YsKoTq4SRucNloVuFr7he1zfam1RjmzIgsTGJIKp7DLQ-csSSTFXlK9QA44es1hWvu3MUbOfS8K1ms8fFoURDKW_lCt-34M/s200/LadyGordon.jpg)
Lady Wharncliffe ( nee Lady Caroline Mary Elizabeth Creighton) was likewise a more-than-competent 'amateur'. I can find no other information on her life, but the Tate Gallery does hold some pieces of her work. Her untitled picture held at the Tate Gallery shows a typical Regency emphasis on trees and sky, probably due to the influence of Constable and Turner.
All that I can discover about Lady Susan Elizabeth Percy are the dates of her life: 1782-1847. The Tate Gallery has several examples of her drawing however, sketched in both Britain and on the continent. They are here.
The Duchess of Sutherland, Elizabeth Leveson-Gower, who succeeded by Scottish law to her father's titles, was known for her involvement in the Highland Clearances. She was also however a splendid artist. The Tate Gallery has only one of her watercolours, Mountain Landscape.
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It frustrates me no end that so little information is available online about these artists. I am sure there are brief mentions in some books, but I think they deserve their own study. Would that I had the time and the resources to write that book!
We must not forget, before we leave the female artists of the Regency, those women who--in the absence of photography--recorded their day to day life in sketches. They have left an invaluable, and charming, record of Regency life. One such was Diana Sperling, and thankfully, there is a book devoted to her Regency world "Mrs. Hurst Dancing and other scenes from Regency Life" from Gollancz Publishers. If you haven't seen this book, I strongly urge you to look it up.
I am still looking for books on female artists of the late 18th and early 19th century. Please let me know if you are aware of any!
'Til next time,
Lesley-Anne
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