, Portrait Of A Lady, Called Elizabeth, Lady Tanfield At The Tate Britain Gallery In London UK England Editorial Image

, Portrait of a Lady, Called Elizabeth, Lady Tanfield . As with many portraits of the period, the identity of both sitter and artist is uncertain. The sitter is now thought to be Elizabeth Tanfield . He would have been about 30 years old when this was painted. She was an English poet, playwright, translator, and historian. Tanfield is the first woman known to have written and published a play in English. A number of unusual features of the painting, including the flowers in the woman’s hair, the peach tree, and the lifting of her shawl as if to shield the sun, all suggest that the portrait had a personal meaning that is now lost.