Barbara Isted of Ecton

Delicately painted in 1817 on the reverse side of convex glass, this portrait depicts Barbara Isted wearing a sprigged dress with a multi-tiered lace fill-in and a frilly cap. Barbara was born in 1761 and was christened on 22 September that year, the day of King George III’s coronation. Her father was a vicar and a close friend of Samuel Johnson who wrote of him – he is ‘a man out of whose company I never go without having learned something’.

Barbara married well, her husband being Sir Samuel Isted of Ecton Hall, Northamptonshire. Together they assembled a fine library and entertained lavishly. On one occasion over five hundred people, rich and poor, enjoyed ‘as comfortable a dinner as was ever cooked’ on their front lawn with dancing, rustic games and a firework display, all to celebrate peace. Barbara and Samuel had two children: their daughter died at just two years of age whilst their son and heir was born deaf and dumb.

With nice costume detailing, the silhouette has a small area of paint loss to the cap though this is not at all a detraction. Gibbs’ silhouettes were originally backed with wax but this often cracked becoming unsightly. Here the wax has been replaced with archival card. The silhouette is housed in the original papier-mâché frame with the artist’s small trade label reverse. There is also an old hand-written label, as shown.

Bedfordshire-born Hinton Gibbs took up silhouette painting whilst pursuing a career in the militia. His painting subsequently became a full-time occupation upon his discharge from the militia in 1815. Gibbs moved around the country, advertising locally as he went, and found plenty of work. He was later joined in the business by one of his daughters. A full account of Hinton Gibbs’ career can be enjoyed here.