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Large-scale painting depicting a woman in ornate red and gold dress and elaborate jewelry sits near a rocky cliffside overlooking a coastal bay.

Portrait of Lady Caroline Montagu (d. 1892) as Haidée

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George Hayter

Commissioning a portrait with an exotic setting was popular among the early nineteenth-century aristocracy, a trend that informs this portrait of Lady Caroline Montagu (d. 1892), daughter of the Fifth Duke of Manchester. Lady Caroline is depicted as Haidée, a figure from Lord Byron’s epic poem Don Juan, published between 1819 and 1824. In Byron’s work, Don Juan is shipwrecked on a Greek pirate island where he meets Haidée, the pirate’s daughter. Dressed in an elaborate and brightly colored costume, with a dagger in her sash and a treasure chest at her side, Lady Caroline looks the part. However, the decorum of her pose and expression are appropriate for a woman of her social status in British society. Combining traditional English painting ideals with contemporary continental trends, George Hayter secured an enduring reputation in the history of English painting. After receiving his initial training at the Royal Academy, he traveled and studied in Italy and France from 1826 to 1831. The French Romantics, who were attracted to foreign, dramatic, and dangerous themes, strongly influenced Hayter while he was abroad. Working in this popular new style upon his return to England, Hayter’s reputation soared. In 1832, Hayter painted the portrait of the young Princess Victoria, and when she became queen in 1837, she appointed him official portrait and history painter.
Artist
George Hayter
(English, 1792 - 1871)
Title
Portrait of Lady Caroline Montagu (d. 1892) as Haidée
Date
1831
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
77 1/4 x 57 3/4 in. Overall
Credit
Evjue Foundation Grant purchase in honor of Mrs. Frederick W. Miller
Accession No.
1993.44
Classification
Paintings
Geography
England

Related

1993, sold by Christopher Wood Gallery (London, England) to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

  • Noon, Patrick. "Constable to Delacroix: British Art and the French Romantics." London: Tate Britain, 2003.
  • Bryan, James E. "Sir George Hayter's Portrait of Lady Caroline Montagu." Bulletin/Biennial Report 1997-1999. Elvehjem Museum of Art (1999): 32-41. pp. 32-41
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Bulletin/Annual Report 1993-1995." Madison: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 1995. p. 100
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Artscene." Vol. 20, No. 2, July- December 2003. p. 9
  • Chazen Museum of Art. "Artscene." Vol. 27, No. 1, January-June 2010. p. 3
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Bulletin/Biennial Report 1997-1999." Madison, WI: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 2000 p. 33
  • Chazen Museum of Art. "re:mancipation." Madison, WI: Chazen Museum of Art, 2024. pp. 77, 79, 81, 137
  • Bryan, James E. "Sir George Hayter, Portrait of Lady Caroline Montagu (d. 1892) in Byronic Costume, 1831." "Alter Ego Art History" (September 2021). https://alteregoarthistory.wordpress.com/2021/09/09/sir-george-hayter-portrait-of-lady-caroline-montagu-d-1892-in-byronic-costume/ (accessed September 26, 2025).

  • re:mancipation: Chazen Museum of Art, 2/6/2023–6/25/2023
  • Constable to Delacroix: British Art and the French Romantics: Tate Britain, 2/6/2003–5/11/2003

This large-scale painting depicts a woman with a light skin tone and brown hair seated on the ground in a rocky coastal landscape. She gazes directly forward with a closed-mouth smile. She wears a red headdress and an elaborate dress featuring a low-cut red and gold bodice, voluminous white sleeves tied at the shoulders with red and gold ribbons, and a long skirt striped in red, green, and blue. A long gold chain necklace drapes across her chest, complemented by ornate gold earrings that dangle toward her chin. The silver handle of a knife or dagger is tucked into a scarf or sash wrapped around her waist. Leaning slightly, she rests her left arm on a low surface draped in dark fabric, while her right hand lies on her lap, loosely holding a strand of rosary beads that spill onto the ground. To her left, in the lower right corner of the composition, a wooden distaff wound with wool leans against an open wooden box overflowing with pearl necklaces, colorful silk scarves, and other jewelry. A silver-and-gold revolver lies on the ground beside the box. Rising above her is a jagged rock face topped with green vegetation and a spiky plant. A tree branch with green leaves extends from the cliff, filling the upper left corner. To the woman’s left, the view opens onto a calm blue bay framed by distant, hazy mountains beneath a blue sky and billowing white clouds. On a sandy bank in the middle distance, several small figures can be seen walking or working along the shore.

The Chazen Museum of Art welcomes comments or inquiries about works in our collection. Please allow two–three weeks for a response. Chazen staff is not able to provide valuations or authentications and such inquiries cannot be answered.

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