Only sixteen when this portrait was made, Jane Jackson was from a wealthy family from Yorkshire, and likely sat for Larkin to commemorate her imminent marriage into a family of similar status. Her jacket’s plunging neckline allies her with not only the most fashionable women of her time but also the most powerful, as similar garments were worn by the queen and her courtiers. The artist captures her sumptuous attire in painstaking detail: her stiffly starched collar and cuffs of lace, the sparkle of the jacket’s silver-gilt spangles and the pile of red velvet against the sheen of blue silk. Embroidered with fantastical pond life, flowers, and birds, her skirt would have shimmered as she moved, the figures dancing with her every step. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2025
