Her Knitting Face!

This well-drawn pencil profile shows the artist’s friend, Mrs Warde, concentrating on her knitting. Dating to about 1851, the portrait is nicely detailed showing her lace mittens and the portrait miniature on her corsage. A label on the reverse reads – ‘Mrs Warde’s knitting face’.

The talented artist was Lady Augusta Minna Lyons Howard (1821-1886), daughter of Sir Edmund Lyons, British minister to Greece. It was in Greece that Lady Augusta met her future husband, Henry Granville Fitzalan-Howard (later the 14th Duke of Norfolk). Whilst a guest, Lord Fitzalan fell ill and was taken care of by Lady Augusta with whom he then fell in love. The pair married in 1839 and together had eleven children.

Drawn in pencil and having been rescued from a distressed album of Lady Augusta’s work, the portrait is presented in a period rosewood frame with a gilt slip.