Exhibition Announcement- A Young Lady in White Returns to Ightham Mote

A Young Lady in White, Sargent's portrait of Elsie Palmer, will return to the spot in which it was painted for the first time in over a century. 

The subject of the painting was Elsie Palmer, the daughter of General Jackson Palmer, famous American railroad engineer and founder of Colorado Springs, and his wife Mary ‘Queen’ Palmer. It was painted between 1889-90 while the influential family rented Ightham Mote and shows seventeen-year old Elsie in the Mote’s tower corridor against the backdrop of the distinctive linenfold panelling which remains on the walls today.

National Trust's Ightham Mote in Kent will host an exhibition of the work, on loan from the Colorado Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs, as part of its exhibition The Queen of Ightham- An American Interlude: Queen Palmer, John Singer Sargent and their Circle. This exhibition will explore Elsie's mother 'Queen' Palmer's time at the home during which it became an intellectual hub for the elite of the Aesthetic Movement. 

An engaging hostess, ‘Queen’ welcomed some of the most highly regarded figures of the day, including Sargent, considered the leading portrait painter of his generation for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. Actress Ellen Terry, and author Henry James were among other guests at the medieval moated manor house.

The portrait was owned by the Palmer family until 1925 when it was purchased by Col. Charles Clifton. It was finally acquired by the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Michael Howell, Curator of the Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs, said: “This is an amazing opportunity for Ightham Mote and the Fine Arts Center, and I can tell that Elsie is quite anxious for a visit to her former home.”

For further details please see: https://www.nationaltrust.org....