Description
New volume in the Frick Diptych series features an illuminating essay by Frick Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Aimee Ng paired with a contribution by fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi.
Innumerable pearls line the blue satin dress of the Honourable Frances Duncombe, who wears a bright red jewel on her chest, possibly a ruby or garnet. Frances was raised by her stepmother in the house of the Earl of Radnor and was betrothed to the earl’s eldest son; however, her engagement was broken off when the family discovered her affair with a John Bowater, whom she married in 1778. Exactly when and why this monumental portrait was commissioned from Gainsborough is unknown. After spending some years living in Germany (rumoured to have had an affair with Archduke Maximilian Franz, brother of the French queen, Marie Antoinette), Frances returned to England and lived with this portrait in her family home, Old Dalby Hall, in Leicestershire, until her death, in 1827.
Mizrahi’s creative contribution adds greatly to this book about this iconic painting of a fashionable lady; he mentions the moment of first catching a glimpse of the work when entering the conservation room at the Met: “I gasp”. “Frances Duncombe looks every bit as gorgeous unframed, if not even more so for the vulnerability.”
Author biographies
Isaac Mizrahi has worked extensively in the entertainment industry as an actor, host, writer, designer and producer for over 30 years. He is chief designer for the Isaac Mizrahi brands, a division of Xcel Brands, Inc. His memoir, I.M., was published in February 2019.
Aimee Ng is Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, The Frick Collection, New York.
Table of Contents
- Director’s Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Frances Duncombe Journal by Isaac Mizrahi
- Gainsborough’s Hon. Frances Duncombe by Aimee Ng
- Bibliography
- Index
- Image Credits
