18th Century Portrait Painting Countess of the Dawn – Lady Jane Stanhope as Aurora
British School, Circa 1785 — After Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792) Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington, Portrayed as Aurora
An Allegorical Georgian Watercolour Inspired by Reynolds’s Harewood House Portrait
Highlights
• Late-18th-century watercolour portrait with a mythological subject.
• Traditionally identified as Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington.
• Depicts the sitter as Aurora, Roman goddess and herald of the dawn.
• Derived from Sir Joshua Reynolds’s circa-1775 portrait of Jane Fleming.
• Delicately painted wooded landscape illuminated by the first light of morning.
• Symbolic flower wreath, white drapery and sash scattered with golden stars.
• Atmospheric palette of blush pink, pale gold, blue, green and ivory.
• Accomplished combination of detailed figure painting and transparent landscape washes.
• Professionally conserved and framed for display.
• Gold-leaf reverse-profile frame with AR70 museum-quality glazing.
• Scottish provenance including Lindsay Burns & Company.
Introduction
This poetic Georgian watercolour portrays Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington, assuming the mythological identity of Aurora, the Roman goddess who announces the coming of day.
Painted around 1785 by an unidentified British artist, it is closely based upon Sir Joshua Reynolds’s earlier portrait of Jane Fleming, completed circa 1775. Reynolds’s original is preserved at Harewood House and presents the young heiress within an idealised landscape filled with the symbols of dawn.
Here, the transparency of watercolour gives the familiar composition a distinctive luminosity. Morning light appears to pass through the sky, costume and surrounding vegetation, creating an image that feels simultaneously aristocratic, pastoral and otherworldly.
Recently conserved and presented behind AR70 protective glazing, the portrait offers both historic interest and an elegant decorative presence.
Catalogue Details
Artist: Unidentified British School artist
Associated artist: Sir Joshua Reynolds
Catalogue designation: After Sir Joshua Reynolds
Title: Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington, as Aurora
Date: Circa 1785
Period: Georgian; late 18th century
Country of origin: Great Britain
Medium: Watercolour on paper
Genre: Allegorical portrait
Movement or style: Grand Manner and Neoclassical portraiture
Sitter: Jane Stanhope, née Fleming, Countess of Harrington
Signature: No signature identified
Frame: Reverse-profile moulded frame with a gold-leaf finish
Glazing: AR70 low-reflective protective glass with UV filtering
Display: Framed and ready for hanging
Catalogue Note
The Countess stands in an elegant contrapposto pose surrounded by flowers and foliage. Her flowing white dress evokes the draped garments of Classical sculpture, while the wreath and starry sash establish her identity as Aurora.
Behind the figure, shadowed trees frame an expansive view towards the horizon. Warm rose and golden passages spread through the sky, gradually meeting misty blues and softened greens. This progression from darkness into light reinforces the painting’s central theme: the departure of night and the arrival of dawn.
The watercolourist has reserved the most controlled handling for the sitter’s face, hands and clothing. The surrounding landscape is treated more freely, with transparent washes suggesting clouds, foliage and distance without disturbing the figure’s visual prominence.
Reynolds’s original portrait was painted circa 1775, when the sitter was still known as Jane Fleming. The present interpretation dates from approximately a decade later and demonstrates the continuing appeal of his allegorical portraits among Georgian patrons and collectors.
Its close correspondence with the documented composition supports the designation “after Sir Joshua Reynolds”. No claim is made that the watercolour was executed by Reynolds or under his direct supervision.
The Sitter
Jane Fleming was born in 1755 into a wealthy family and became the heiress of her father, Sir John Fleming, 1st Baronet.
She married Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington, in May 1779. As Countess of Harrington she occupied a prominent position within court and fashionable society, later serving Queen Charlotte as a Lady of the Bedchamber.
Contemporary portraits helped shape her public image as a woman of beauty, refinement and elevated social standing. Reynolds’s decision to depict her as Aurora aligned those qualities with a familiar Classical allegory.
Aurora was believed to open the gates of morning and announce the sun. The flowers at the sitter’s feet suggest awakening nature, while the star-covered sash represents the retreating night sky.
Jane Stanhope died in 1824 and remains known through several portraits and reproductive engravings held in British collections.
The Artist
Sir Joshua Reynolds helped establish portraiture at the centre of British artistic culture during the Georgian period.
As the inaugural President of the Royal Academy, he promoted the Grand Manner: an ambitious approach that combined recognisable likenesses with the intellectual and visual authority of Classical antiquity, Old Master painting and historical art.
His portraits frequently enhanced the status of their sitters through idealised settings, commanding poses and symbolic costume. In the portrait of Jane Fleming as Aurora, Reynolds transformed a fashionable young heiress into the personification of dawn.
The anonymous watercolourist responsible for this work understood the essential structure and iconography of Reynolds’s composition. The interpretation preserves its dignified pose and Classical symbolism while using the translucent properties of watercolour to create a gentler, more intimate atmosphere.
Provenance
• Private Scottish collection.
• Offered through Lindsay Burns & Company, Scotland.
• Subsequently curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.
• Privately Loaned & Exhibited at the Famous Lord Hill Museum.
Dimensions
Image dimensions:
Height: 41 cm or approximately 16.1 inches.
Width: 33 cm or approximately 13 inches.
Framed dimensions:
Height: 55 cm or approximately 21.7 inches.
Width: 47 cm or approximately 18.5 inches.
Depth: 1.5 cm or approximately 0.6 inches.
All dimensions are approximate. The framed dimensions include the frame.
Condition Report
The watercolour is offered in good overall historic condition and has undergone professional conservation.
Its delicate colours remain visually appealing, although areas of foxing and age-related staining are present. These marks are consistent with the age and paper support and should be considered part of the work’s condition.
The portrait has been newly framed in a reverse-profile gold-leaf moulding. AR70 low-reflective and UV-filtering museum-quality glass provides improved viewing clarity and protection.
Condition should be assessed from the complete photographic record before purchase. Further detailed photographs can be supplied upon request.
Shipping
Worldwide delivery is available.
The framed watercolour will be carefully protected, professionally packaged and shipped with full transit insurance.
Please contact us before ordering if you require additional delivery information or a quotation for a particular destination.
Attribution and Research
The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.
These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.
Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution
The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.
Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®
Specialising in carefully curated British and European fine art, antiques and historic works of art.
Every artwork is professionally researched and catalogued using comparative scholarship, published reference material and more than two decades of experience within the international fine art market. We are committed to offering collectors works of artistic and historical merit accompanied by transparent provenance research, detailed catalogue descriptions and professional, client-focused service.
Additional photographs and further information are available upon request.
