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, British, 1757-1782
Title
Portrait of Miss Sisson
Date1778
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
74 x 61 cm
Credit LineBequeathed, Sir Hugh Lane, 1918
Object numberNGI.787
Exhibition HistoryCentenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, October - December 1964

Label TextSara Sisson was the daughter of a successful linen printer at Lucan. She never married and lived with her great-aunt. William Doughty painted this sophisticated portrait during a brief visit to Dublin. The York born artist had spent two years as an assistant to Joshua Reynolds and the handling of the figure’s clothing and hair reveals the influence of the master. Reynolds thought highly of Doughty and wrote a letter of recommendation on his behalf to the Irish lawyer and statesman John Hely-Hutchinson.