Frances Trollope
- Artist: Auguste Hervieu
- Date: circa 1832
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 6 in. x 5 in. (152 mm x 127 mm)
- Portrays: Frances Trollope
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is a small oil on canvas portrait of Frances Trollope (1779‑1863), the novelist who traveled to America in 1827. The artist, Auguste Hervieu, was her friend and children’s tutor; he painted this after their tour. She wears a modest hat and a simple dress that hints at early nineteenth‑century fashion. Her gaze is direct, suggesting confidence. In 1832 she published *Domestic Manners of the Americans*, a scathing attack on slavery – perhaps the portrait was made around that same year. The canvas was bequeathed to us by her great‑granddaughter in 1954.
See it in person
Frances Trollope 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.
