Hogarth certainly painted this sketch from life, and although he may never have known the girl’s name, this is definitely a portrait of an individual. For at least a century before and after Hogarth painted The Shrimp Girl, most of the travelling sellers of shellfish in London were women, usually the daughters or wives of fishmongers in Billingsgate Fish Market.
Hogarth sketched a half-pint measure in the basket balanced on his shrimp girl’s head. A few darker shells suggest that she also sells mussels, and perhaps cockles, as well as shrimps. She wears a dark sou'wester, a hat traditionally worn by fisherman, and a cloak, probably of oilskin, but nothing can dim the sense of life and character she radiates.
The Shrimp Girl appears unique among Hogarth’s single-figure oil sketches in being painted from life, spontaneously and for its own sake. The speed with which it was painted adds to its sense of truth and liveliness.
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Judy Egerton, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The British Paintings’, London 2000; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
This is an eighteenth-century English panel frame, crafted from pinewood. The ogee moulding has recessed corners, which are carved and decorated with leaves that slightly protrude over the outer edge. The back edge is adorned with a stylised dentil-and-flute motif. The sanded flat leads to an acanthus-leaf sight moulding with corner leaves.
The frame was originally silvered, but was regilded in 1932 when it was converted to accommodate a glazing door by F. Draper. It is unclear whether the frame is original to the painting, as various sources remain inconclusive.
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.
