argaret Sarah Carpenter was one of the most distinguished portrait painters of England. The daughter of Captain Alexander R. Geddes, she was born 1793, in Salisbury. The Geddes family counted among its members some men of considerable professional and literary reputation. In her early youth, Miss Geddes received instruction in figure drawing and painting from a resident master at Salisbury. Lord Radnor gave her permission to copy in his gallery at Longford Castle, and by his advice she sent pictures three successive years to the Society of Arts. On each of these occasions she received a public acknowledgment of her talent and industry. For a study of a boy’s head, subsequently purchased by the Marquis of Strafford, the largest gold medal was awarded. By Lord Radnor’s advice she came (1814) to London. At once she acquired a well-merited reputation. Immediately on her arrival, she exhibited at the Academy a portrait of Mrs. Sparkes, and at the British Institution “A Fortune Teller” and “Peasant Boy.” From that time up to 1866, she rarely failed, year by year, to exhibit portraits and fancy subjects, all admirably painted, and treated with brilliant power. [386/387]
Self-Portrait, c. 1817.
In 1817, Miss Geddes married Mr. W. H. Carpenter. Her sister was wife of W. Collins, R.A., and mother of Mr. Wilkie Collins. Mr. Carpenter was, in 1845, appointed Keeper of the Prints and Drawings in the British Museum. He died, July 12, 1866. A pension of £100 per annum was then granted to Mrs. Carpenter, in recognition of her own merits, as well as in acknowledgment of the services of her husband.
This gifted lady died in London, November 13, 1872, aged eighty. Perhaps no sister artist in this country was more admired than she. Truth, firmness of touch, brilliancy of colouring, both in oil and in water colours, were her leading points of excellence. Many of her portraits and miniatures were engraved — the Viscountess Eastnor, Countess Ribblesdale, Viscountess Barrington, etc.
Among the more remarkable portraits by her were — Lord Kilcoursie, Lady Sarah de Crespigny, 1812; Lord Folkestone, 1814; Mr. Baring, 1815; Sir George Madden, 1817 ; Lord Mark Ker, 1819; Sir H. Bunbury, 1822; Lady Eastnor, 1825; Lord de Tabley, 1829 ; Mr. Justice Coleridge, 1830; Lady Denbigh, 1831; Mr. Herries, 1832; Lady King, daughter of Lord Byron, 1835; Lord John Manners, Dr. Whewell, John Gibson, the sculptor (now in the National Portrait Gallery); a life-sized portrait of Anthony Stewart, the celebrated miniature painter, entitled [387/388] “Devotion” — also the “Sisters,” portraits of the artist’s own daughters. These last two, with "Ockham Church,” were purchased by Mr. Sheepshanks, and are now at South Kensington.
Self-Portrait, 1852.
Personally, Mrs. Carpenter was genial and amiable. Her death was deplored by a large circle of friends. Two of her children — Mr. W. and Miss Henrietta Carpenter — have become artists. The former is especially well known.
It was a matter of indignation that so eminent and able an artist should have been debarred the honour of becoming an Academician. The Art Journal made some severe, but justifiable, remarks on the subject. ‘“Had the Royal Academy abrogated the law which denies a female admission to its ranks, Mrs. Carpenter would most assuredly have gained, as she merited, a place in them; but we despair of ever living to see the rights of women vindicated in this respect; the doors of the institution are yet too "narrow for such to find entrance.” It cannot be denied that since the days of Angelica Kauffman and Mary Moser, and the female honorary members of the same period, the Academy has studiously ignored the existence of women artists, leaving them to work in the cold shade of utter neglect. Not even once has a helping hand been extended, not once has the most trifling reward been given for highest merit and industry....
Bibliography
Clayton, Ellen Creathorne. English Female Artists. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1876. HathiTrust, from a copy in the Getty Research Institute. Web. 19 October 2024.
Created 19 October 2024