Sarah Siddons (née Kemble), 1787

The English actor Sarah Siddons (1755–1831) was a forerunner of modern thespians, pioneering a more psychological approach to the craft. The eldest of actor-manager Roger Kemble’s twelve children, she toured with his company throughout her childhood, marrying company member William Siddons in 1773. Her first major success came in 1782 with her portrayal of Isabella in the Fatal Marriage, written by David Garrick, the leading actor-manager of the period, which led to a sequence of other tragic roles. Painted by renowned English portrait artists including Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sir Thomas Lawrence and Thomas Gainsborough, she became a respected celebrity, her portraits securing her fame.

In this fine chalk drawing Siddons is pictured in ordinary, fashionable dress. Downman noted of the portrait, ‘Off the Stage I thought her face more inclined to the Comic’. However, revealing her informal side in contrast to her status as the great tragic actor led to the work being criticised when shown at the Royal Academy in London in 1788.

National Portrait Gallery, London Given by Mrs D.E. Knollys, 1934
© National Portrait Gallery, London