Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys (1806-1883)

Elizabeth Denn Clabburn was the wife of Thomas Clabburn of Norwich (1788-1858), a shawl manufacturer. The present picture was undoubtedly painted at the request of their eldest son, William H. Clabburn, who commissioned multiple portraits of his wife, daughters and of himself from Sandys throughout the 1860s. The 17th Century Dutch costume and presentation of the sitter won the praise of the audience at the Royal Academy where it was exhibited in 1862. The Art Journal described the work as 'a vigorous example of pencilling - firm, with much life-like expression.'