Thomas Lawrence, Miss Murray, 1824-26
Kenwood House, English Heritage; Iveagh Bequest, 1927
(88029792) Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts
Have you met Miss Murray?
The lovely girl offering us flowers as she skips towards us in the picture on the left, is Louise Georgina Murray, daughter of Sir George Murray, a Scottish general who served the empire in numerous Napoleonic campaigns, was lieutenant-general in Canada, and finally commander-in-chief in Ireland; later on he became a politician. When Thomas Lawrence agreed to paint little Louise, he told Sir Murray that all “I can do will be to snatch this fleeting beauty and expression so singular in the child before the change takes place that some few months may bring.” He perfectly captured her innocence and beauty. After she grew up, she married at 21, became a widow after eight years, and never married again.
Miss Murray is only one of a group of breathtaking paintings you can admire in our private tour of Rembrandt, Gainsborough, van Dyck: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London.
Please do RSVP to Angelika or angelika@houstonleipzig.org now, if you plan to join us in the fabulous tour by Dr. Helga Aurisch on Thursday, June 28, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. We need to know how many to expect in order to plan for our food and beverage reception. Check out more details in our earlier email, our Houston-Leipzig website ,or at http://houstonleipzig.org/?p=1810 . You can find directions to the museum parking garage on our Events page at http://houstonleipzig.org/?page_id=26 .
Cheers!