When this portrait was painted by Mary Ann Knight in 1821 the Regency period had officially ended as George IV had by then been crowned King following the death of his father in 1820. Regency as a style continued though as seen by this lady’s dress that is fastened on the high waistline with a decorative gold band. Draped over her shoulders is a taupe surcoat with wide sleeves; her hair fashionably curled is swept up and secured with a large comb.*The portrait is signed reverse over an interesting pencil sketch of a gentleman ‘Painted by / M. A. Knight / April 1821’. It is presented in a later gilt metal frame with a fragment of an old handwritten label attached.*The sitter is 24-year old Lady Catherine Elliot (1797-1862). Catherine Sarah was born into an aristocratic Scottish family, her parents being Gilbert Elliot-Murray Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto and his wife Anna Maria Amyand. Her father was a career diplomat and politician who held the position of Governor-Gene...