Lady Holland

Richardson was an English portrait painter, writer and collector. Although regarded as one of the leading portraitists of his generation, he is today better remembered for his writings on art than for his paintings. The identity of the sitter in this portrait has never been formally confirmed. Research from the National Portrait Gallery proposes that she is Rebecca, the second and youngest daughter and co-heir of William Paston, last Earl of Yarmouth. She married John Holland in 1699. He succeeded his grandfather as 2nd Baronet in 1701. An alternative source, however, suggests that Lady Holland is the daughter or niece of C. Cornell of Castleton, Eire, who served as M.P. for Westminster in the late 18th century.