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Drawing and painting formed part of the standard education of any
well-brought-up young woman of Susan Bertie's day. She possessed considerable
artistic talent, as demonstrated by the fanciful
portrait she painted of Banastre at some
point during their marriage.
She also painted compositions such as this little watercolor with pressed flowers, dated 1815. I picked this up on Ebay as a lark so the provenance isn't exactly guaranteed. (It is "signed" "Lady Tarleton," but the signature is on the mat, not the painting itself. The handwriting does, however, appear to match Susan's signature on a document in the PRO, so I believe it is genuine.) The vendor told me it was the last of several of her pieces he'd sold. I can only wonder if the any of the other buyers recognized (or were curious about) the identity of "Lady Tarleton." |
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On the back of the painting, in the same hand, is a snippet of poetry (presumably by popular Irish poet Thomas Moore (1779-1852), though I haven't confirmed it): The garland I send thee was cull'd from those bow'rs | |
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