The Family of the Earl Gower

Angelica Kauffmann painted The Family of the Earl Gower around 1772, a large group portrait of one of England's most powerful aristocratic families during her most successful London period. The Earl of Gower (later Duke of Sutherland) was a significant political figure, and his family portrait by Kauffmann reflects her success in attracting the highest levels of British aristocratic patronage. The portrait combines the Neoclassical compositional organization she favored — figures arranged in a classical harmony — with the informal outdoor setting and relaxed poses of the British conversation piece tradition, creating an image that satisfied both aristocratic dignity and fashionable informality.

Kauffman arranges the family group with the elegance and spatial clarity of her classical training. The soft palette and graceful poses bring a Continental refinement to the English family portrait tradition, with careful attention to individual likenesses.