Lady Browne

Patrons of Elizabethan and Jacobean portraiture wished to record an individual’s appearance for posterity but also sought to express continuity of their bloodlines. At this time portraiture was above all concerned with the sitter’s status in society. An accurate likeness was less important.

Lady Browne is depicted dressed for attendance at court. Her standing collar and cuffs of fine lace, elaborately embroidered bodice, pearls and jewellery all reflect the considerable wealth and stature of the Browne family.

Lady Browne is one of a group of 17th-century portraits at RAMM associated with the Browne Mostyn family in Oxfordshire. The Browne Mostyns lived at Kiddington Hall, north of Woodstock, and the main Browne line lived at Cowdray Park, Sussex.

A precise identification of Lady Browne has proved difficult as several members of this large family may have been the sitter. The two most likely candidates are Lady Magdalen and Lady Anne Browne.

Lady Magdalen Browne (about 1528-1608) married Sir Anthony Browne of Cowdray between 1552 and 1558. She was the daughter of William Lord Dacre. On her marriage she became Viscountess Montagu. They had at least ten children and it was from her son, Sir Henry Browne, that the Kiddington branch was descended. Lady Browne was a fervent Catholic and a maid of honour to Queen Mary. At the time of painting Magdalen was about 80 years old which does not fit well with how she is depicted.

Lady Anne Browne was the daughter of Sir William Catesby of Ashby St Legers, Northamptonshire, and the first wife of Sir Henry Brown (about 1562-1628) of Kiddington. Her date of death is likely to have been shortly before Sir Henry married his second wife, Mary Hungate. If so, Lady Anne would have been of the correct age when this portrait was painted.

Portrait research by Stephen Price for the ‘Eye to Eye Project’ in 2006.

More recent research by Diana Beckett suggests the most likely identity is Lady Jane Browne, wife of Anthony-Maria Browne V, 2nd Viscount Montague.

You can buy a high-quality print of this work from Art UK.

Visual description: an oil portrait of a middle-age woman dressed for court in the early 17th century. She is wearing a dark dress with cap sleeves and an elaborate bodice embroidered with motifs of flowers. The dress has intricate lace cuffs and a similarly intricate lace standing collar. The dress is decorated with ropes of pearls which match her pearl necklace and earrings. Her hair is drawn back from her face and carefully styled, creating a rounded shape. She holds both her arms in front of her with a lace handkerchief in her right hand. There are red drapes behind her, adding some colour to an otherwise dark background.