Last year, I posted an image of Ellen Terry I had bought simply so I could have the rights to reproduce it in the journal SHAW.
Well, I ordered another lovely print, this one of the actress Sarah Siddons. I have no immediate need to reproduce it in a publication, but given my ongoing interest in Siddons, I probably will some day.
As with the Terry print, I am offering this image gratis to anyone who wants to publish it in a journal, book, newspaper, magazine, website, or whatever. If you need a higher quality image, feel free to contact me. You can credit it to the personal collection of James Armstrong.
This print comes from the 1830s, but is based on the 1784 oil painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse. The original is owned by The Huntington in San Marino, California. By the way, the folks at the Huntington were super-helpful when I wanted to reproduce the painting in another journal. Plus their gardens are amazing. If you're in the San Marino area, check them out!
As for Siddons, she was particularly well known for her voice. She came to embody tragic acting, literally taking on the guise of the muse of tragedy in the Reynolds portrait. When she appeared on stage as the tragic muse in a revival of David Garrick's The Jubilee she reportedly took the same pose she had in the painting--art imitating art!