CANVASES, CARATS AND CURIOSITIES

As the first President of the Royal Academy of Art in 1768, Reynolds set the precedent of quality that all other portraitists strive for. He championed the Grand Manner style of portraiture that borrowed elements from classical history painting.
An excellent example of this portraiture at its height is this work by Sir Joshua Reynolds, depicting Henry Bowles Howard, 12th Earl of Suffolk and 5th Earl of Berkshire, towards the end of his career. Howard was an esteemed British politician and Knight of the Garter who served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 1771 to 1779, and he played a key role in utilizing mercenaries during the American Revolution and safeguarding Sweden's independence.

Seated in a stately library, the Earl places one hand upon a stack of important documents and looks wistfully into the distance. The Earl’s portrait draws on the classical conventions of Greek and Roman art and the Italian Renaissance masters to anchor the nobleman in a history of refinement.

Pride and Prejudice-Era Portraiture

By the Regency era, portraiture remained a dominant art form, though its appearance shifted in tone. While Reynolds’ Grand Manner style continued to inform how subjects were posed and framed, portraits of the early 19th century often emphasized elegance and fashionable refinement over classical grandeur. Artists like Sir Thomas Lawrence, who rose to prominence in the decades following Reynolds’ death, adapted the compositional drama of the Grand Manner to suit contemporary ideals of beauty and sociability.

For example, in the lively portrait of Maria Mathilda Bingham and her children by Sir Lawrence, the sitters’ faces are rendered with heightened emotional nuance. The subjects are still elevated, but the emphasis has shifted toward capturing glamour and the sitters’ psyche. Conversation pieces, group portraits that depicted families or social gatherings in informal, domestic settings like the above, were also popular during the Regency. These works emphasized genteel behavior, family unity and leisure, offering a carefully curated image of serene aristocratic life.

Eventually, the moralism of Neoclassicism softened into something more socially agile: a flattering, fashionable art that preserved the sitter’s reputation while indulging in a degree of personal expression. The performance of gentility expected in the Regency era was certainly influenced by the Prince Regent’s own reputation for extravagant fashion and theatrical sense of refinement. In this way, Regency portraiture bridged the gap between the grandeur of the Enlightenment and the emotional currents that would soon characterize Romanticism.

A fascinating portrait of John Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer, from our sold archives carries a fascinating tie to the world of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. John Charles Spencer was an important British statesman, abolitionist and member of the illustrious Spencer family. Appearing in his prestigious Chancellor of the Exchequer robes— a position he held from 1830-34— his wealth and status abound across the interior scene, from the luxurious red velvet curtains and his silver inkwell stand to the idyllic view of Green Park from Spencer House in the background.

As previously discussed, the basis of Austen’s Pemberley was Chatsworth House, the palatial estate in Derbyshire whose Sculpture Hall was considered one of the foremost 19th-century collections of European sculpture. Its creator, William George Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, was actually a first cousin of John Charles Spencer. A small English world!

A New Love of Nature: Landscape Painting

Landscape painting gained new prominence during the Regency period as shifting cultural attitudes toward nature transformed how the countryside was viewed and, in turn, represented. No longer seen solely as a backdrop for aristocratic leisure, nature came to be appreciated as a source of emotional and spiritual experience. This change reflected the broader Romantic ideals gaining traction in British art and literature.

 
Romanticism in England began in 1798, when William Wadsworth and Samuel Coleridge jointly authored Lyrical Ballads, a collection of poems. The Romantic period of Regency England reflected the social changes occurring, namely the depopulation of the countryside and rapid growth of industrial cities between 1798 and 1832. Romantics responded to the beginning stages of the Industrial Revolution by advocating for a deeper appreciation of nature through both literature and art. To them, the beauty of nature was more than merely an objective viewing experience, as it also evoked a strong emotional response.

Artists like John Constable and the young J.M.W. Turner began depicting natural scenery not as an idealized classical setting with ancient ruins, but as a living and dynamic environment. Regency artists sought to convey effervescent factors, such as weather, light and mood that shaped the contemporary landscape. Constable’s tender depictions of rural Suffolk emphasized the personal memories of his birthplace and agricultural life, such as in Stratford Mill (1820).

These evolving views of nature are echoed in Jane Austen’s prose, where the English countryside is more than a passive backdrop. Her novels utilize the countryside as a site of reflection and social commentary. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet’s personal and dynamic growth is explored through many natural settings: a long walk through the muddy fields to Netherfield, her awe of the expansive grounds at Pemberley and her many solitary strolls while mulling over her emotions.

These scenes mirror the Regency-era sensibility that nature could shape and reflect one’s interior life. Much like the painters of her time, Austen used landscape to express character and change, thus reinforcing a cultural movement that saw nature as both aesthetically rich and personally meaningful.

The Material Culture of the Bennet Sisters

While Pride and Prejudice’s plot is driven by courtship and social maneuvering by the Bennets, its world is built so convincingly on the material details of Regency life. The Bennet sisters’ possessions, pastimes and fashion choices tell us just as much about their social class and aspirations as their dialogue. In a time when a young woman’s future was dependent on securing an advantageous marriage, their hobbies and material surroundings served as decorous signals of refinement, taste and marital eligibility.

In Pride and Prejudice, Austen makes a clear connection between the value of material possessions and the value of propriety and social responsibility. When Lydia Bennet elopes with Wickham, she writes in the letter to her friend: “You will laugh when you know where I am gone... I shall send for my clothes... but I wish you would tell Sally to mend a great slit in my worked muslin gown...”(ch. 47). In one seemingly offhand sentence, Austen cleverly juxtaposes Lydia’s scandalous behavior with her torn dress, equivocating her elopement with an item in poor condition.

The upper and aristocratic classes of 19th-century England were shaped by the values of polite society, where women were expected to cultivate gentility through artistic pursuits and elegant dress and adornment. Activities that may seem like simple hobbies, be it playing the piano or cross-stitching, were tools of self-presentation in a society that judged a woman’s worth by her manners and accomplishments as much as a dowry. These pursuits are frequently referenced in Pride and Prejudice, most notably when Caroline Bingley defines an “accomplished woman” as need to have a “thorough knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, all the modern languages...” (ch. 8). Many antiques from this era were deeply tied to the ideal performance of femininity and domestic aesthetics.

Ladies’ Accessories and Personal Items

A young, decorous lady like Jane or Elizabeth Bennet, who is first introduced as trimming a bonnet, would have been skilled with a sewing needle. In an age when all sewing, embroidery and mending were done by hand, storing sewing needles safely would have been extremely important for these women. In comes the handy needle case, like the one below.

Made out of bone, it is a quintessential example of British neoclassical elegance. The needle case features a white exterior complemented by a delicately dotted border, highlighted with touches of gold paint. The central Wedgwood plaque is a focal point, showcasing a classical mythological scene rendered in white relief against a striking green background, framed by foliate leaves in a blue border. The interior, lined with blue velvet and yellow piping, not only adds a sumptuous visual contrast but also ensures the safekeeping of needles, blending utility with opulence.

Though not mentioned specifically in the novel, they might have also carried a chatelaine, a decorative clasp worn at the waist with suspending chains as an accessory. Each chain on the chatelaine, a high-class object, would have held useful household tools— like a small needlecase— or perfume bottles. For example, the 19th-century French perfume bottle with brilliant enamels could have been attached to the chatelaine. Though certainly a more opulent version than the Bennet’s may have afforded, its exquisite homage to love would have been highly popular during this time.

The women of Pride and Prejudice also spent much of their time writing letters to friends and family, as letter-writing constituted the only form of longer-distance communication. More than just practical, letters were a tool of emotional expression and social navigation, especially for women who were often excluded from more public forms of discourse.

In Austen’s novel, letters serve as turning points in the plot. Mr. Darcy’s long, heartfelt letter to Elizabeth following his rejected proposal is one— if not the most— significant moment in the story, completely reframing the reader’s understanding and Elizabeth’s perception of him. The centrality of correspondence is reflected in the types of objects Regency women of the Bennets’ social class used daily, like the George III silver inkstand crafted in 1817, only a few years after the novel’s publication.

Often displayed on a writing desk in a well-appointed home, this inkstand is comprised of three cut glass jars atop an elevated pen tray, serving as an inkwell, quill stand and pouncepot (a container for pounce, a powder that dries wet ink and smooths paper). Paul Storr, the creator, is considered by many to be the greatest silversmith of his era and was the principal silversmith of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, the Royal Jewelers and Silversmiths to their majesties George III, George IV and their extended families.

This set exhibits exuberant designs of flowers, scallop shells and acanthus throughout the silver portion, plus a chamberstick and suffer atop the inkwell, which suggests this piece would have been reserved for the most affluent client. Its elegant design and fine silverwork signal the cultural value placed on the art of letter-writing itself. While this set would most likely have been out of the Bennets’ price range, it's easy to imagine a similar inkstand adorning the writing desk at Longbourn. 

So now we've explored the Bennet women's domestic world and the art that surrounded them. Next, we'll enter the masculine sphere of Regency society to discover the objects and pursuits that shaped Mr. Darcy's refined lifestyle. Stay tuned for part three!