William Hogarth

Three Ladies in a Grand Interior (‘The Broken Fan’), possibly Catherine Darnley, Duchess of Buckingham with Two Ladies

c.1736

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

License this image

Not on display

Artist: William Hogarth 1697–1764
Medium: Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions: Support: 652 × 667 mm
frame: 865 × 895 × 78 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to Tate 2003
Reference: T11756

Display caption

This is an example of the new portrait format – the ‘conversation piece’ – which Hogarth pioneered in the 1730s.
The modesty, small scale and informality of conversation pieces are often seen as reflecting the values of a growing, Anglican middle-class. However, the main sitter, on the left, is probably the aristocratic Duchess of Buckingham, an illegitimate child of the Catholic king James II and a staunch supporter of the exiled Stuart court. Here, she is distracted by a little dog running away with her fan. Is the effect sympathetic or satirical?

Gallery label, March 2011

Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? We would like to hear from you.

Explore

interiors(4,628)
- domestic(1,812)
- - hall(50)
leisure and pastimes(7,771)
- recreational activities(2,849)
- - reading(409)
nature(45,225)
- animals: mammals(4,879)
- - dog - non-specific(1,043)
- plants and flowers(2,712)
- - flower(779)
objects(23,363)
- clothing and personal items(5,879)
- - drapery(118)
  - fan(69)
- furnishings(3,080)
- - chair(920)
  - stool(113)
  - table(762)
  - table cloth(53)
- vessels and containers(2,152)
- - basket(485)
people(35,142)
- actions: postures and motions(9,097)
- - sitting(3,323)
  - standing(3,131)
- adults(22,742)
- - woman(9,059)
- named individuals(12,487)
- - Darnley, Catherine, Duchess of Buckingham(1)
- portraits(4,429)
- - groups(312)
  - individuals: female(1,664)

You might like

Benjamin Ferrers Three Ladies of the Leman Family and their Dogs on a Terrace

1728
Joseph Highmore Group of Three Ladies in a Garden

date not known

View by appointment
William Hogarth Ashley Cowper with his Wife and Daughter

1731
William Hogarth Head of a Lady, Called Lady Pembroke

c.1740
Sir Joshua Reynolds Lady Anstruther

1761
William Hogarth The Staymaker (? The Happy Marriage V: The Fitting of the Ball Gown)

c.1745
Allan Ramsay Lady Hall of Dunglass

1752
Attributed to Gawen Hamilton An Elegant Company Playing Cards

c.1725
William Hogarth Sigismunda Mourning over the Heart of Guiscardo

1759
Francis Hayman Thomas Nuthall and his Friend Hambleton Custance

c.1748
Joseph Highmore Two Ladies in an Interior

date not known

View by appointment
Jonathan Richardson Portrait of the Artist’s Son, Jonathan Richardson the Younger, in his Study

c.1734

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Marcellus Laroon the Younger Interior with Figures

c.1750
Andrea Soldi Portrait of Henry Lannoy Hunter in Oriental Dress, Resting from Hunting, with a Manservant Holding Game

c.1733–6

On display at Tate Britain part of Walk Through British Art
Arthur Devis A Lady in Blue

1757

In the shop

Browse the shop