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Primary sourcePainting1850

Charlotte Brontë (chalk portrait by George Richmond)

George Richmond · 1850

A chalk and pencil portrait of Charlotte Brontë made from life in 1850, now considered her defining likeness.

This 1850 chalk portrait, made from life, is the standard likeness of Charlotte Brontë.

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Pencil and chalk portrait on a pale tan paper of a woman with her hair pulled back in smooth bands, wearing a high-collared dress with a frilled lace collar and a tied bow at the neck. She gazes to one side with a slight smile. Handwritten inscription in the lower left corner.
George Richmond, portrait of Charlotte Brontë, 1850. National Portrait Gallery.

About this source

What it is

This is a chalk and pencil drawing of Charlotte Brontë, made in 1850 by the artist George Richmond. It was commissioned by her publisher, George Smith, and is held today by the National Portrait Gallery.

Why it matters

Because it was drawn from life, this portrait is treated as the most reliable image of what Brontë actually looked like, unlike later imagined depictions. It also shows how closely her publisher was involved in shaping her public image once she had become a celebrated author.

Look closer

  • What does the sitter's expression and pose suggest about how she wanted to be seen?
  • Why might a publisher want a portrait made of an author?
  • What can a single formal portrait not tell us about a person's life?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Charlotte Brontë on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the first edition of Jane Eyre, an Autobiography, edited by Currer Bell, in three volumes, Vol. I, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., Cornhill, 1847. Cream-colored paper with black printed text.Book

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Charlotte Brontë · 1847

Painted group portrait of three young women against a dark background with a pale green-yellow vertical light band. The woman on the left wears a grey collar and dark dress, the one in the centre wears a green dress and has curly hair, and the one on the right wears a dark brown dress with a grey collar. A wooden table edge is in the foreground.Painting

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The Brontë Sisters

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Title page of the 1857 London first edition of The Life of Charlotte Brontë by E. C. Gaskell, in two volumes, Vol. I, published by Smith, Elder & Co., Cornhill. Includes an Aurora Leigh quotation.Book

Secondary source

The Life of Charlotte Brontë

Elizabeth Gaskell · 1857

Title page of the 1853 first edition of Villette, reading 'VILLETTE.' followed by 'By Currer Bell, author of Jane Eyre, Shirley, etc.', 'In Three Volumes, Vol. I', and publisher lines for Smith, Elder & Co., London, and Smith, Taylor & Co., Bombay, dated 1853.Book

Primary source

Villette

Charlotte Brontë · 1853

Title page of the 1846 book Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Centered text reads POEMS BY CURRER, ELLIS, AND ACTON BELL in a serif typeface on aged cream paper. At the bottom: LONDON, AYLOTT AND JONES, 8, PATERNOSTER-ROW, 1846.Book

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Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë · 1846

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