A Portrait of a Young Woman: A father and daughter reunion?

Below is some information about a potential portrait of Mary Severn by her father Joseph, who was also an artist. Peter Bradford has helped enormously in my work on Mary Severn Newton, not least by lending her work for exhibition earlier this year and sharing information about her when he finds it.

I agree with his opinion that the portrait of a young woman by Joseph Severn is likely to be that of his daughter Mary (see right) due to his evidence listed below and that it is not detailed in Severn’s accounts for 1847, as found in Scott (2005). 1847 was the last year that Severn made over £500 and he struggled financially after that.

Back of the portrait

The information on the back of the portrait shows that it was once at a dealers D F N Hickman in Birmingham and probably bought from Abbott & Holder (A & H London). The mark on the back of the portraits 'J.S. 22.' indicates Joseph Severn and his address, which was then 22 St James Street, Buckingham Gate, London

I had a look through Mary’s earliest sketch book, which roughly covers the 1846 to 1853. Another clue for the portrait is the hair net as Mary preferred to use a hair net rather than pile her hair up. Another, more informal, sketch (see below) of her by Joseph from around the same time shows Mary reading with her hair more loosely tied back. It is lovely to think of this portrait displayed with Mary's later work.

Portrait of Mary by her father c. 1846

Peter writes:

In October 2025 the online search engine flagged up a portrait coming to auction at Mallams, Oxford. The description given was of a young woman drawn by the artist Joseph Severn in 1847. We won the lot on a very low bid as there was little interest in this rather plain and dark looking picture.

After a good clean of the painting the thought came to mind that this could be a portrait of Joseph's own daughter Mary Severn (1832-1866). Comparing her features with that of Mary's self-portrait held by the National Portrait Gallery I am of the firm opinion that this is a painting by her father of a young Mary Severn.

Reasons:

1. The portrait dates to 1847 when Mary would have been 15 years of age.

2. The self portrait at the NPG was painted when Mary was in her 20s.

3. The facial features are almost identical allowing for the slimming down and loss of teen plumpness over the intervening years.

4. On the advice of a well-known figurative artist I 'flipped' the self-portrait so that both paintings were facing the same way. This makes comparisons easier. (See below).

5. At the auction, the preceding lot was a portrait of a young man by the artist George Richmond. This artist taught Mary Severn the skills of portraiture. It is likely that both paintings had been put into auction by the same seller.

A comparison of Mary's self portrait (now in the NPG) with the portrait Peter has bought.

I am now pretty certain the portrait by Joseph is of Mary to commemorate her 15th birthday. The portrait is dated 17 June, Mary’s birthday was 29 June. Whether it was a present for Mary or perhaps for Joseph’s wife Elizabeth who knows. We can never be 100% certain that this is a portrait of Mary by her father Joseph unless something further is discovered among the Severn family archives. However, I like to think that this unprepossessing acquisition creates in a way a family reunion.

Thanks to Peter Bradford.

Grant F. Scott, ed. (2005), Joseph Severn : Letters and Memoirs, London: Taylor & Francis.