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Portrait of Miss Helen Faucit

Artist: MacLeay, Kenneth, RSA · 1802-1878

Portrait of Miss Helen Faucit

Helen Faucit first visited Edinburgh in 1843 to act at the Theatre Royal in 'The Lady of Lyons,' a decade after making her stage debut. Becoming…

Helen Faucit first visited Edinburgh in 1843 to act at the Theatre Royal in 'The Lady of Lyons,' a decade after making her stage debut.

Becoming initiated into Edinburgh society, she was introduced to Sir William Allan who was at the time President of the RSA. Charles Dickens had previously written to him drawing her to his attention, and possibly through him she came to sit for MacLeay when she next returned to Edinburgh to act at the Theatre Royal in 1844 (?).

Her theatrical leanings, and in particular her commitment to the works of William Shakespeare is acknowledged by the pile of books on the table before a sculpted bust of the bard himself.

According to Carol Jones in her biography 'Helen Faucit; Fire and Ice on the Victorian Stage' Helen posed for a portrait in Sir William Allan's studio (date not indicated) As her fame dictated she was painted by a number of artists there is a portrait of her in character as Pauline from 'The lady of Lyons' in the NPG by Thomas Charles Wageman. (watercolour, 1838) there is also a watercolour in the SNPG by Sir Frederick William Burton that presents a very idealised depiction of her in classical dress, holding a laurel wreath (PG 695). Most importantly there is, in the same collection a small watercolour by Kenneth Macleay (PG 649) that dates to around the same period as our portrait (1844) and was possibly a preliminary study for it.

In 1845 the present full length portrait of Faucit by MacLeay was published by Alexander Hill as a lithograph.