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Portrait of Miss Maria Denman (fl.1808 - 1861), sister-in-law of the sculptor John Flaxman.
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John Flaxman RA (1755 - 1826)
Portrait of Miss Maria Denman (fl.1808 - 1861), sister-in-law of the sculptor John Flaxman.
c.1814
Pencil on paper
Museum number: P14
On display: Dressing Room
All spaces are in No. 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields unless identified as in No. 12, Soane's first house.
For tours https://www.soane.org/your-visit
Curatorial note
Drawn about 1817, this exquisite pencil portrait by the sculptor John Flaxman (1755-1826) is of his wife Nancy’s sister, Maria Denman. The Soanes and Flaxmans were close friends for many years and in the 1800s Maria often came with John and Nancy Flaxman to visit John and Eliza Soane at their new country house, Pitzhanger Manor, or shared a seaside holiday with her sister and Eliza in Margate.
After Flaxman’s death in 1826, Soane stayed in close touch with his sister-in-law and almost immediately began acquiring pieces of the sculptor’s work for his collection, Maria helping him to decide on their selection from the works left in the studio and on their arrangement in Soane's Museum. She continued to send items for his collection right up to the time of Soane’s death.
On her own death in 1861 Maria bequeathed the remainder of the sculpture from Flaxman’s studio to University College London where it can be seen today in their Flaxman Gallery.
Soane also owned two pairs of roundels of John and Nancy Flaxman (see A19 and A21; SC )
After Flaxman’s death in 1826, Soane stayed in close touch with his sister-in-law and almost immediately began acquiring pieces of the sculptor’s work for his collection, Maria helping him to decide on their selection from the works left in the studio and on their arrangement in Soane's Museum. She continued to send items for his collection right up to the time of Soane’s death.
On her own death in 1861 Maria bequeathed the remainder of the sculpture from Flaxman’s studio to University College London where it can be seen today in their Flaxman Gallery.
Soane also owned two pairs of roundels of John and Nancy Flaxman (see A19 and A21; SC )
Soane collections online is being continually updated. If you wish to find out more or if you have any further information about this object please contact us: worksofart@soane.org.uk