Mid-Georgian Portraits Catalogue
Anne Wellesley (née Hill), Countess of Mornington (1742-1831), Wife of 1st Earl of Mornington; mother of 1st Duke of Wellington
- Gallery portraits
- All known portraits
- Biography and References
Mother of the Duke of Wellington, daughter of 1st Viscount Dungannon; married 1759 2nd Baron Mornington (Earl of Mornington 1760; 1735-81); Mrs Delany thought ‘her education not finished enough for her to make any considerable figure’ but, despite her husband’s extravagance, her five sons each achieved distinction; a severe figure in later life, it was said that her letters to her sons could have been read aloud at Charing Cross.
[at the age of sixteen] ‘a fine young woman altogether; rather a little clumsy, but fine complexion, teeth, and nails, with a good deal of modesty and good-humour’ (Mrs Delany, 1758).
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, National Portrait Gallery, 2004, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.
[at the age of sixteen] ‘a fine young woman altogether; rather a little clumsy, but fine complexion, teeth, and nails, with a good deal of modesty and good-humour’ (Mrs Delany, 1758).
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: John Ingamells, National Portrait Gallery: Mid-Georgian Portraits 1760-1790, National Portrait Gallery, 2004, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.