Rachel Fanny Antonina Le Despencer

John Bacon the Younger

ca. 1820 · Marble · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Antonina apparently spent much of her adult life in an unsuccessful pursuit of the title Baroness Le Despencer. Thus, the inscription on the base was undoubtedly intended to legitimize her claim. Her nom de plume Philopatria, which she adopted for her acclaimed "Essay on Government" of 1808 (she was also the author of anticlerical tracts), appears on the back. The bust was exhibited at Royal Academy in 1820.

Artist

John Bacon the Younger

Date

ca. 1820

Medium

Marble

Culture

British

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Purchase, Margaret A. Darrin Gift, 1989