Jon A Lindseth Brontë Collection: Francis Mary Richardson Currer portrait

Content Description

This collection contains an undated framed oil portrait of Francis Mary Richardson Currer (1785-1861) by John James Masquerier (1778-1855). The portrait, oil on canvas, measures as framed 37 x 31⅞ inches. Currer is captured in a half-length portrait in a white dress, holding a red book. Currer, an heiress of Yorkshire, England, was a distinguished book collector. She amassed a library of over 20,000 volumes at her Eshton Hall home. Her collection included substantial holdings in natural science, topography, antiquities, history, and classics. Known for her generosity, Currer financially supported scholarly and literary projects, and her name is sometimes associated with the Brontë family: she is believed to have assisted the impoverished Patrick Brontë, father of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, with a charitable gift during a period of hardship. Frances Currer’s surname is also thought to have inspired Charlotte Brontë’s choice of the pseudonym “Currer Bell” when she published her 1847 novel Jane Eyre.

Acquisition Type

Gift

Provenance

Gift of John A. Lindseth, 13 November 2025. Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 7 March 2007, lot 115 (as follower of Sir Thomas Lawrence, Portrait of a lady, traditionally identified as Anne Goddard, Lady Lethbridge (d.1857)); Subsequently acquired by the present owner.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

No

Use Restrictions

The Library believes that all or nearly all material in this collection is likely to be in the public domain, free of copyright restrictions. Visit our Permissions and Publishing page for more information about use of Special Collections materials. The library can provide copyright information upon request, but users are responsible for making their own determination about lawful use of collections materials.