"Ada King (1815–1852), Countess of Lovelace" by Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793-1872) (original) (raw)

Ada King (1815–1852), Countess of Lovelace

Margaret Sarah Carpenter (1793-1872)

1836

Oil on canvas

H 216 x W 137 cm

© Government Art Collection, accession no. 2172

Purchased from Leggatt Brothers, 1953

Downloaded via Art UK with thanks, for the purposes of non-commercial educational research. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]

See below for commentary.

Ada was the only child of Byron and his wife, Annabella Milbanke, who hoped that having their daughter taught mathematics and science would inoculate her against becoming a writer. Ada turned out to be so gifted that she is now seen as the first lady of computer science. Here, having just descended a staircase in evidently grand surroundings, she looks every inch a poised and fashionable woman of the upper classes. Her head is turned away rather proudly from the viewer, and one tiny shoe peeps out from beneath her glistening ivory robe. Yet there is something more than elegance in the way she carries herself — a nobility and confidence that suggests true eminence. Jonathan Hajdamach notes, "The historical value of Carpenter's portrait of Lovelace cannot be overstated; it is essentially the coming together of two of Britain's most gifted and independently minded women of the nineteenth century." —Jacqueline Banerjee

Bibliography

Ada King (1815–1852), Countess of Lovelace, Mathematician, Daughter of Lord Byron. Art UK. Web. 19 October 2024.

Hajdamach, Jonathan. "Margaret Sarah Carpenter: a forgotten talent." Art UK. Web. 19 October 2024.

Created 19 October 2024