Not currently on view
In the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · as of August 2026
FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG
Given to the Cleveland Museum in 1920 by the collector Jeptha H. Wade, this painting was thought to be an authentic work by Joshua Reynolds. However, after considerable study, the museum attributed it to a follower of Reynolds working in a similar style around the same time. This portrait depicts the wife of the captain (and later admiral) George Collier. The artist draws an analogy between this woman and Lesbia, a married woman who provided much artistic inspiration for the Roman poet Catullus (c. 84–c. 54 BC). The poet's writings document a love affair with Lesbia, and one poem in particular documents the death of the woman's beloved pet sparrow. The viewer can barely see the sparrow in this painting, since it lies on a table partially obscured by her right elbow. The muted colors evoke a sense of melancholy as the woman mourns with her head turned away from the viewer.
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Sir Joshua Reynolds — Mrs. George Baldwin (Jane Maltass, 176
Louis Loeb (American, 1866–1909) — Jessica
Sir Joshua Reynolds — Annetta Coke
Charles Hasslewood Shannon (British, 1863–1937) — Souvenir o
Jean Honoré Fragonard — Allegory of Vigilance
Henri Lehmann — Study of a Female Nude
Abbott Handerson Thayer (American, 1849–1921) — Hebe
Thomas Lawrence — Mrs. Jens Wolff
Thomas Sully — The Gypsy Girl
Frederic, Lord Leighton — Lucia
Joseph-Marie Vien (French, 1716–1809) — Sweet Melancholy
William Morris Hunt (American, 1824–1879) — His First Model-
