Elizabeth Craven (née Berkeley), Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth
- Artist: Ozias Humphry
- Date: circa 1780-1783
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 23 3/4 in. x 20 in. (605 mm x 506 mm)
- Portrays: Elizabeth Craven (née Berkeley), Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is a portrait by Ozias Humphry, an oil on canvas from the early 1780s. You’ll see Elizabeth Craven (née Berkeley) standing in soft light; her hair gathered modestly and her face turned slightly to the left. Notice the subtle brushwork that gives her eyes depth and the faint background suggesting a room rather than a plain canvas.
Humphry used oil to capture texture: the silk of her gown glows with delicate layering. The painting measures about 23 inches tall by 20 inches wide, a medium size for a portrait meant for private viewing.
Elizabeth was an early woman writer and traveler. At this moment she had just started her literary career with “The Miniature Picture,” staged at Drury Lane in 1780. Her own words appear on the caption: “Matrimony … is less calculated to make people happy…”. After a brief marriage, she travelled across Europe and the Middle East, even crossing Russia on a slede and dining with Catherine the Great. She later married the Prussian Margrave of Ansbach in 1791 and settled in England.
See it in person
Elizabeth Craven (née Berkeley), Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
