Portrait, The Duchess de Nemours by Sir William Charles Ross

Sir William Charles Ross

c. 1800s

Engraving

This engraved portrait of Victoire, Duchess de Nemours, was executed by the English engraver Charles Heath after a miniature painted by Sir William Charles Ross, with the approval of Queen Victoria. The original miniature was completed in 1840 during the Duchess’s visit to England, and the engraving was later published in 1843 in The Keepsake, a prominent Victorian literary annual. The composition reflects Ross’s refined portrait style, emphasizing delicacy and aristocratic elegance.

The work is closely tied to the personal relationship between Queen Victoria and her cousin, Victoire, Duchesse de Nemours. Victoria praised Ross’s miniature as “quite perfection” in her journal, and after the Duchess’s death in 1857, she continued to value it as a cherished likeness. Ross, a leading Victorian miniature painter and Royal Academician, and Heath, a prominent engraver known for high-quality literary illustrations, together helped circulate idealized images of European royalty. The print thus operates both as a personal commemorative image and as part of a broader nineteenth-century culture of royal portraiture, print dissemination, and sentimental remembrance.

Dimensions: H 10 3/4" x 8 1/8" W

Condition: Overall the engraving is in very good condition. The paper shows some oiling and discoloration as expected with age.