Artwork
The Ladies Amabel and Mary Jemima Yorke
The Ladies Amabel and Mary Jemima Yorke is a print by the Romanticist artist Edward Fisher. It dates from 1761 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1761 by Edward Fisher, this print portrays two young girls from the Yorke family in a naturalistic outdoor setting. It is part of the collection at The Cleveland Museum of Art and reflects the 18th-century British tradition of portraiture that blended familial intimacy with landscape elements. The composition emphasizes quiet dignity rather than theatricality.
Subject & Meaning
The two girls, Amabel and Mary Jemima Yorke, are depicted in a moment of stillness, each accompanied by a small animal—a bird in one hand, a dog at the other’s side. These creatures suggest themes of gentleness and domestic care, common in portraits of aristocratic children. Their poised posture and shared attire imply sibling closeness and social status, framed within an idealized natural world.
Technique & Style
The palette—dominated by muted greens, browns, and whites—supports a calm, intimate mood consistent with mid-18th-century British printmaking.
Fisher employed fine linear detail and subtle tonal gradations to render fabric, foliage, and skin. The use of light softens contours, enhancing the serene atmosphere. Background elements like the stone wall and dense trees are rendered with restrained precision, avoiding overt drama. The palette—dominated by muted greens, browns, and whites—supports a calm, intimate mood consistent with mid-18th-century British printmaking.
History & Provenance
The print was produced shortly after the girls’ birth, likely as a private commission for the Yorke family. It entered The Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection through documented acquisition, preserving its original context. No major alterations or reprints are known, and its survival in good condition reflects careful stewardship over centuries.
Context
In mid-18th-century England, portraits of children often combined personal sentiment with social signaling. Depicting girls with pets and in pastoral settings reinforced ideals of refinement and moral purity. Fisher’s work aligns with contemporaries like Joshua Reynolds, though executed in print form, making it more accessible to middle-class audiences seeking refined domestic imagery.
Legacy
Though not widely reproduced, the print remains a representative example of how aristocratic childhood was visually codified in Georgian Britain. Its preservation in a major public collection allows ongoing study of gender, class, and the role of nature in portraiture. It contributes to understanding the quieter, personal side of 18th-century visual culture.
Artist & collection
