Stephen Catterson Smith the Elder

[Princess Victoria aged 9 in a Landscape]

oil on panel

painted in August 1828, one of the earliest portraits of the Princess, later of course to become Queen Victoria. It was engraved in 1829 by Thomas Wright.

.

1806 - 1872.

The artist, born in Yorkshire and trained at the Royal Academy schools and in Paris, was a portrait painter. He moved to Dublin in 1845, where he painted many well-known Irishmen and members of the Irish artistocracy. Smith was appointed Director of the National Gallery of Ireland in 1868.

.

note: there is a lovely portrait of the Princess aged 4:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Princess_Victoria_aged_Four.jpeg

I can't see my young grand-daughter putting up with that costume!