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John Michael Wright , English, 1617-1694

Title

Portrait of Lady Catherine and Lady Charlotte Talbot

Date1679

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

130 x 110 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1976

Object numberNGI.4184

InscriptionJames Mich. Wright, à Londres, pictor Regini pinxit, Dublin anno 1679 (on reverse)
Label TextWright was a Catholic portrait painter who was exiled, from London to Dublin, in 1679 due to anti Catholic legislation. He stayed in Ireland for a number of years and completed commissions such as this portrait of the daughters of Richard Talbot, Duke of Tyrconnell, and his first wife Katherine. The younger girl Charlotte wears a veil, perhaps in reference to their mother who died the year this portrait was painted. The elder sister Catherine died young and was buried with her mother in Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin. Charlotte fled to France with her stepmother and sisters in the aftermath of the Battle of the Boyne.