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John Singer Sargent
1856-1925
"Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth" 1889
Presented by Sir Joseph Duveen 1906. The famous actress, Dame Ellen Terry (1847–1928), is shown here in the role of Lady Macbeth. At the first performance in 1888, Sargent was struck by Terry’s appearance and persuaded her to sit for a portrait. He invented her dramatic pose, which did not occur in the production. Oscar Wilde, who saw Terry’s arrival at Sargent’s Chelsea studio, remarked, ‘The street that on a wet and dreary morning has vouchsafed the vision of Lady Macbeth in full regalia magnificently seated in a four-wheeler can never again be as other streets: it must always be full of wonder. |
