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Primary sourcePainting18th century

Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft by John Williamson

John Williamson · 18th century

A contemporary oil portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft painted during her lifetime, considered an authentic likeness of her.

This portrait, made during Wollstonecraft's lifetime, is considered one of the most authentic images of her.

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Oil painting of a pale-faced woman with powdered grey curls, wearing a dark high-necked dress, a white cravat, and frilled white cuffs. Her right hand rests on her left arm against a dark background, with a red drapery at lower right.
John Williamson (attributed), Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft, 18th century.

About this source

What it is

This oil painting, attributed to John Williamson, shows Mary Wollstonecraft and was made during her lifetime in the 18th century. It depicts her with powdered grey curls, a dark high-necked dress, and white cravat and cuffs.

Why it matters

As a portrait made while Wollstonecraft was alive, this painting is considered one of the most authentic likenesses of her. Such portraits help later generations connect a face to the writer whose ideas had such wide influence.

Look closer

  • What does her pose and clothing suggest about how she was presented to viewers?
  • How might this image differ from other portraits of her, and what might explain those differences?
  • What can't a portrait tell us about a person's personality or ideas?

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

More Mary Wollstonecraft sources

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Title page of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft, printed at Boston by Peter Edes for Thomas and Andrews, Faust's Statue, No. 45, Newbury-Street, dated MDCCXCII. Includes a decorative monogram.Book

Primary source

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft · 1792

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A Vindication of the Rights of Men

Mary Wollstonecraft · 1790

Oil portrait of a woman with reddish-brown hair under a dark cap, turned to her left, against a dark background. She wears a loose white high-necked garment with a wrap-style collar and crosses her arms.Painting

Primary source

Mary Wollstonecraft

John Opie · 1797

Title page of 'Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark' by Mary Wollstonecraft. Text reads: LETTERS, WRITTEN, DURING A SHORT RESIDENCE IN SWEDEN, NORWAY, AND DENMARK, BY MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT, LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD, 1796.Book

Primary source

Letters Written During a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark

Mary Wollstonecraft · 1796

Book

Primary source

Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

William Godwin · 1798

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