The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons

by Gill Perry, Joseph Roach, Shearer West

Women first appeared on the legitimate stage in England following the Restoration in 1660, heralding a major change in British theater. The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons explores the vibrant and sometimes controversial relationship between art, gender, and the English theater in the 18th century. The richly illustrated book combines both well-known and seldom-seen portraits with fascinating essays that explore the ways that actresses used portraiture to enhance their reputations, deflect scandal, and increase their popularity and professional status. 
 
The featured works include paintings by major artists such as Johann Zoffany, Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, and Thomas Lawrence. 
 
Created to accompany the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition of the same name, The First Actresses provides a vivid spectacle of femininity, fashion, and theatricality from Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons, during a period when portraiture became an important vehicle for the expression of concerns about female sexuality, social status, decorum, gender, and celebrity. The authors also chart the commercialization of the spectacle of the actress, as well as the connections between the 18th-century “star system” and modern celebrity culture.

Genres: Art, History, Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2011

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a moderately interesting and well illustrated book about actresses from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from the 2011-2012 exhibition at the NPG.

Included are: Nell Gwyn, Hester Booth, Lavinia Fenton, Kitty Clive, Peg Woffington, Frances Abingdon, Elizabeth Inchbald, Giovanna Baccelli, Elizabeth Sheridan, Sarah Siddons, Mary Robinson, Elizabeth Farren, Dorothy Jordan and Elizabeth Billington. Most have fairly short bios and many sadly seem to die rather young.

I did find this quite a slim volume for an exhibition catalogue so more of a three to four star read.

[Jane Austen]

An excellent snapshot of some of the women who were prominent in the early days of women on stage in theatres in England.

(If you're looking for a quick summary of Sarah Siddons to decide if you want to read about her in depth in this book, you can find one here https://www.janeausten.co.uk/the-indo...)