George Dunlop Leslie 1835-1921

Clarissa takes its subject from Samuel Richardson's eponymous novel (also known as History of a Young Woman) published in eight volumes in 1747, being the longest novel written in the English language. It is the story of the virtuous, wealthy and intelligent heroine Clarissa Harlowe and the handsome rake Robert Lovelace. In his picture Leslie depicts Clarissa awaiting Lovelace in a beautiful walled garden, presumably intended to be her recently deceased grandfather's estate. In 1887 John Everett Millais painted a whimsical portrait of his daughter Sophie as Clarissa (sold in these rooms, 5 June 1996, lot 119).