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Nicholas Joseph Crowley , Irish, 1813-1857

Title

Invitation, Hesitation and Persuasion

Datec.1846

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

102 x 127 cm

SignedCrowley

Credit LinePurchased, 1979

Object numberNGI.4330

Label TextThough its title implies a distinct narrative, the specific subject of this painting remains unclear. It seems likely that the young woman at the centre of the composition has arrived at a society event only following the intercession of friends. The event is a revival fancy dress party of a kind popular among the affluent in nineteenth-century Ireland and Britain. The young women wear mittens, shoes, and hairstyles that were fashionable for young middle or upper-class girls in the first half of the nineteenth century, but eighteenth-century gowns that may have been preserved by their families.