Portrait of a Woman, called Mrs. Close
1786
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Horace Hone
Horace Hone (1754–1825) was a British artist, born in London.
See the richer artist page1786
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Portrait of a Woman, called Mrs. Close is a 1786 unspecified by Horace Hone, a Rococo painting work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A woman in a white dress looks straight at you, pearls woven through her brown curls and around her neck. The background is a soft olive green. No one knows who she really was. The name “Mrs. Close” stuck by accident, written on a dealer’s tag years later. Horace Hone painted dozens of women like this—same pearls, same calm gaze—so the face feels familiar even if the name doesn’t. To see more faces from the same time, look up England, 18th century.
The sitter of this portrait has been called “Mrs. Close” at least from 1929, when Edward Greene purchased the miniature from the dealer Leo Schidlof. The reason for this identification is, however, unknown, as there is no inscribed reference to Mrs. Close on the miniature or any of its supporting materials. Like so many of Horace Hone’s female sitters, her gown and hair are ornamented with strands of pearls, and she is set against an olive green background. Her brown, curly hair falls over her shoulders, dressed high with a pearl ornament on the right side. She has large, dark brown eyes and…
The artist, Horace Hone, signed the miniature in the lower right with the monogram HH.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Horace Hone (1754–1825) was a British artist, born in London.
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