Catalogue No. 20

Artist: Read, Katherine (Attributed To)
Supposed Portrait of Polly Jones

1723-78
Half-length, wearing a pink satin dress with lace cuffs and blue ribbons, and a matching hat, holding flowers. Pastel behind glass. 28 3/4 ins by 23 ins.

Collection Details
R H Allan; William Allan; A Denham; with Sabin Gallery, from whom bought by the Faringdon Trustees, 1970 (as by Cotes).

Literature
Edward Mead Johnson, Francis Cotes, 1976, pp. 95, 168, No. 43 (rejecting the old attribution to Cotes, and proposing Katherine Read instead).

Background
The old identification of the sitter as Polly Jones was based on a previous attribution to Francis Cotes, since Cotes was known to have drawn a portrait in pastels of Polly Jones. The drawing has since been reattributed to Katherine Read. It is catalogued as Read by Jeffares, J.612.324.