Portrait of a Lady
This enigmatic and beautiful picture has so far resisted identification, either of the sitter or the artist. The handling of the paint is both free and distinctive. The portrait was once thought to be by William Hogarth (1697-1764), one of the most original English artists, famous for his lively, moralising genre scenes. Although this example has a frankness and psychological intensity characteristic of a portrait by Hogarth, its style is not typical of his work. The sketchiness and loose brushwork of certain areas suggest that this is perhaps an unfinished portrait.
