Portrait of Mary Elizabeth Braddon is an 1865 portrait painting by the British artist William Powell Frith. It depicts the author Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
Braddon had gained fame through her 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret. Frith was best known for his panoramic scenes of Victorian life such as The Derby Day. He was a close associate of Charles Dickens and was on friendly terms with Braddon as well. He also featured her in his later group painting A Private View at the Royal Academy, 1881.Green & Sellars pp. 117–19
The painting was displayed at the Royal Academy Exhibition of 1865 held at the National Gallery in London. It was later acquired by the neighbouring National Portrait Gallery in 1966.
References
Bibliography Green, Richard & Sellars, Jane. William Powell Frith: The People's Painter. Bloomsbury, 2019. Ormond, Richard. Early Victorian Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1974. Saywell, David & Simon, Jacob. National Portrait Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue. National Portrait Gallery, 2004.