
Mrs. Mary Robinson in the Character of a Nun (c.1780)
John Singleton Copley (American, 1738-1815)
Acquired by the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

John Singleton Copley (1738-1815)
Mrs. Mary Robinson in the Character of a Nun
c.1780
Oil on canvas
67.9 x 59.7 cm (26 3/4 x 23 1/2 in)
Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens: Purchased with funds from the Art Collectors' Council, Adele S. Browning Memorial Art Fund, Schweppe Art Acquisitions Fund, Frances Crandall Dyke Art Acquisition Fund, and Kelvin Davis. 2020.6
Mrs. Mary Robinson in the Character of a Nun captures one of Britain’s most celebrated actresses at the height of her fame. Painted by John Singleton Copley, the portrait shows Robinson in her role as Oriana in George Farquhar’s comedy The Inconstant; or The Way to Win Him. In the play, Oriana adopts a series of disguises—including a nun’s habit—to win her beloved’s heart. Copley portrays Robinson as a captivating figure, her bold gaze and sensuous pose undercutting the innocence of her costume.
The painting highlights Copley’s extraordinary skill with texture, from the crisp white gauze of Robinson’s headdress, partially obscured by a layer of sheer black net, to the luminous darks of her habit. A beam of light illuminates her delicate features and hands, drawing attention to the wooden cross lying across her lap. Likely commissioned by an admirer, the cabinet portrait was painted shortly after Copley moved from Boston to London to establish himself at the Royal Academy and during a period when Robinson sat for several other leading portraitists, including Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough.
Mary Robinson was acclaimed not only for her beauty but also for her talents as a poet, playwright, and novelist. A feminist thinker and fashion trendsetter, she is perhaps best remembered as the mistress of the Prince of Wales, later George IV. Copley’s portrait immortalises her as both a performer and cultural icon of late 18th-century Britain.