Powder and Presence: Pastel Portraits in the Eighteenth Century
11 September 2025 – 4 May 2026
This autumn, the Holburne is delighted to unveil Powder and Presence: Pastel Portraits in the Eighteenth Century, a new temporary collection display on the 2nd floor.
In the 1700s, pastel rose in popularity as a favoured medium for both professional and amateur artists. Through Venetian and French influence, British artists embraced pastel for its soft and silky texture – ideally suited to capture the delicate nuances of skin and textiles in portraiture.
Our new display includes portraits by eighteenth-century pastelists from the Holburne’s own collection. Alongside leading European artists, such as Jean-Étienne Liotard and Anna Tonelli, are Bathonian portraitists William Hoare and his son Prince Hoare, as well as the celebrated draughtsman Thomas Lawrence. Unlike oil, pastel’s immediacy made it ideal for quick commissions from Bath’s many visitors, as it required no drying time and a portrait could be completed, framed, and ready to take home within hours.
Highlights include:
Mr. Hall, Attributed to William Hoare (1707 – 1792), about 1740
Pastel on paper, legacy of Frank Brown, 2000
As the leading portraitist in Bath from 1740 to 1759, William Hoare was a key figure in the eighteenth century where he would become – along with Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds – a founding member of the Royal Academy of Arts. This pastel was produced at the height of Hoare’s career, exemplifying his control of the medium. Whilst the sitter, Mr. Hall, cannot be identified, Hoare was in high demand for fashionable citizens, creating many portraits of politicians who visited the city.
Unknown lady (called Mary Robinson) with a singing child, John Russell (1745 – 1806), 1793
Pastel on paper, purchased from Frank Brown in 1979
John Russell was one of the most prolific pastelists of the eighteenth century. The sitter in this portrait has been attributed to Mrs. Mary Robinson – an English actress, poet, dramatist and celebrity figure, nicknamed Perdita, after her role in The Winter’s Tale (1779). Russell perfected his technique by smudging broad areas of pastel – or ‘sweetening’ as he called it – with his fingers, to achieve nuanced tonal effects.
Portrait of Mrs Alice Methold, Thomas Lawrence (1769- 1830), 1786
Pastel on paper (one of four portraits of the same family)
Known for his gift of capturing a sitter’s likeness, Thomas Lawrence was one the most renowned pastelists of the period. Commissioned around 1786 by Ynyr Burges – the paymaster of the East India Company – this group of four portraits depict Burges, his son-in-law, his sister, and nephew. This group are some of the last portraits Lawrence made in Bath as he moved to London in 1787.