Role portrait as Richard III. Hand-coloured engraving by F.W. Pailthorpe after George Cruikshank

1880. Image size 177 x 108 mm, sheet size 228 x 128 mm. On laid paper. Full length, standing, in tunic with sword and cloak; plain frame border. "G Ck" and "Mr. Kean as Richard" to plate below image.

Mounted to cream mat with plain gold border, overall size 326 x 277 mm.

From the collection of the distinguished American mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne (b. 1934).

Light uniform browning; edges worn, not affecting image. Hall II, p. 350, 135.

Edmund Kean was one of the most celebrated Shakespearean actors of his generation, performing on both sides of the Atlantic. His fame and notoriety during his short career led to a number of theatrical works based on his life.

The present engraving, by illustrator F.W. Pailthorpe (1838-1914), is a well-documented forgery of the 1814 original by George Cruikshank (1792-1878).

"Horne had a voice of extraordinary range, rich and tangy in timbre, with a stentorian chest register and an exciting top... In concert she once achieved the feat of singing in a single programme Rossini arias and Brünnhilde's Immolation Scene, proof of her exceptional versatility. Throughout her lengthy career she was an admired recitalist, singing lieder, mélodies, Spanish and American songs with equal aplomb." Alan Blyth in Grove Music Online.