Based on the way these people are dressed, you’d think Angelica Kauffman was painting in antiquity.

During the wild days of eighteenth-century Britain, Kauffman was the go-to painter for portraits of the aristocracy. It’s no wonder that the people of London loved her – she made them look amazing! Striking portraits were sort of Kauffman’s thing. She seamlessly wove Neoclassical elements into her portraits of contemporary British families. She made families, like this one of the Earl of Gower, look stylish, cultured, and important by using costumes, gestures, and settings that were usually reserved for scenes of ancient Greece and Rome. This style became the ultimate way for posh Brits to flex their wealth and cultural capital. 

Unfortunately, the Earl of Gower’s family wore clothes that were appropriate for their time, and Kauffman didn’t really make families dress up in togas each time they sat for her. But how else was she supposed to communicate how blessed these people were? Kauffman essentially boiled down their personalities into the accessories and poses that enliven the portrait. Make no mistake – that marble bust, vague in its identification but suggestive of grand status and importance, definitely looks a bit like our friend, the Earl. And I’m pretty sure no one was casually playing the lyre at this point in time.

But, as we all know, Kauffman didn’t include this painting’s anachronisms just for kicks. Rather, every element conveys a certain je ne sais quois about Granville Leveson-Gower and his family. Gower, who also went by various titles like Viscount Trentham, the Early Gower, and the first Marquess of Stafford, was a pretty important guy. With this status came the wealth and power that we see on parade in this portrait. And even though we see lots of women surrounding him, this power will transfer to his fourteen-year-old son, George Leveson-Gower, who looks to his father in expectant admiration. With a book in hand, we’re meant to believe that he is young, intelligent, and soon to follow in his father’s footsteps as the head of his family. 

While Kauffman relayed a message about the family in the painting, future families who owned this painting can also claim the same cultural capital as the Gowers. Notorious for her collection of works by female artists, Wilhelmina Holladay utilized her wealth, prestige, and connections to purchase this painting. While staying at her New York apartment, Wilhelmina heard that a work by Angelica Kauffman was coming up for auction nearby. Knowing the importance of this artist and capitalizing on her own street cred, Wilhelmina phoned the auction house and asked to take a private look before the public auction. Luckily for her, she arrived just ahead of a terrible storm, which prevented other people from getting to the auction at the time it was advertised to the public. She snagged this extraordinary piece for only $8,000 simply because no one else was there to bid on it. After the fact, other collectors propositioned Wilhelmina for the painting. Although she stood to make a massive profit from these backdoor deals, her love for art and building her personal collection of women artists prevailed.