Sarah Sophia, Viscountess Villiers,
in the guise of Hebe
by Mrs. Anne Mee, dated 1804.

Lady Sarah Sophia Vane (c.1783-1867) was the eldest child of John Fane, 9th Earl of Westmorland and Lady Augusta Bertie. On 23rd May, 1804, the date of the engraving on the portrait's case, Lady Sarah married George Child Villiers, Viscount Villiers. They had three children. Viscount Villiers succeeded to the title of the 5th Earl of Jersey in 1805.

Set in a circa 1901 Henry John Hatfield & Sons, Ltd. brass frame, trade card within. The frame is engraved "Sarah Viscountess Villiers, 1804." on the front, the reverse engraved with coronet above "Sarah Sophia/ XXIII MAY/ MDCCCIV" (her wedding date).

3 1/2 inches high.

Mrs. Joseph Mee (Anne Foldsone) (1770-1851) was a protege and pupil of Romney. By the time she was twenty, Anne Foldsone was working at Windsor Castle for the Prince of Wales, painting his "Gallery of Beauties". By 1804, she was charging the enormous price of 40 guineas for her miniatures, but Horace Walpole noted how slow she was as an artist, taking many sittings to finish a miniature. After marrying Joseph Mee in 1804, and quickly having six children, her output slowed even more. Examples of Mrs. Mee's work may be seen in the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen and the Wallace Collection.

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