Artful Nature: Fashion and Theatricality 1770-1830
Dressing Actresses: Mary Anne Clarke
In 1809, dressed in a sumptuous light blue gown and carrying a large white muff, Mary Anne Clarke (1776?–1852), the mistress of the Duke of York (the King’s second son and commander in chief of the armed forces), testified before the House of Commons that she had sold army commissions to the highest bidders in order to decorate the large mansion given to her by her royal lover. An unprecedented series of revelations followed that uncovered widespread corruption in parliament and offices of the government. If Mary Anne Clarke, a high-class courtesan, had access to selling promotions, who else had bought their advancement and what could be done about it? The scandal caused an outcry against the government that eventually led to the Duke’s resignation as commander of the army. Caught in an onslaught of negative publicity, highlighted by the satiric prints featured here, Clarke attempted to defend herself by threatening to publish her Memoirs featuring private love letters from the Duke. The Duke in turn tried to suppress the publication of the text. Clarke persevered, composing additional pamphlets and filing several lawsuits. She was subsequently convicted of libel for her narrative version of the events. Not surprisingly, Mary Anne Clarke’s body, fashion choices, and theatricality feature prominently in representations that center on her feminine duplicity and dangerous sexuality. Clarke’s attempts to represent herself as an innocent heroine are parodied through references to her role as a mistress and her desire for fame and luxury.
Portrait of a Lady from a drawing by Adam Buck [Mary Anne Clarke at the Base of a Statue], 1803
In The Connoisseur, vol. XLI (1915), p. 180
Regency portrait painter Adam Buck completed this painting of Mary Anne Clarke, a fashionable society hostess and later mistress of the Duke of York, several years before she was at the center of a government scandal that caused a media sensation. Posed next to the base of a statue, Clarke is elegantly dressed as a stylish and virtuous neoclassical figure. The artist associates her image with timeless, idealized beauty.
Thomas Rowlandson
Dissolution of Partnership or the Industrious Mrs. Clarke Winding Up Her Accounts
Etching with hand coloring
Published February 15, 1809, by Thomas Tegg
Thomas Rowlandson portrays Mary Anne Clarke receiving a money bag from a large man acting as a mediator between her and an emaciated army officer. Behind her, a parted curtain reveals an oval portrait of her lover, the Duke of York, above a list of names of those “offered” promotions. A quote from Jonathan Gay’s famous satiric play aimed at the corruption of mid-century London, “The Beggar’s Opera,” hangs above the Duke’s head: “Tis Woman that seduces all mankind / By her we first are taught the wheedling arts / Her very eyes can cheat when most she’s kind / She tricks us of our mon[e]y with our hearts.” Rowlandson connects Clarke’s role in the commission scandal with the theatricality and deception of the actress. Her private and public “performances” have “exposed” the immorality and depravity of her true character.
Thomas Rowlandson
The Road to Preferment through Clarkes Passage
Etching with hand coloring
Published March 5, 1809, by Thomas Tegg
In this print Rowlandson places Clarke’s figure on a stage at the entrance to a “passage” or tunnel, creating an obscene reference to the entrance to Clarke’s own body. The platform is besieged by an army of men, some in military garb, rushing toward her in an effort to get her attention. Clarke dons a military jacket and hat, an image that resembles John Hoppner’s painting of the well-known actress Dorothy Jordan as Hypolita. Clarke declares theatrically: “Gentlemen it is no use to rush on in this manner the principal places have been disposed of these three weeks and I assure you at present there is not even standing room.” Employing the language of the theater—“principal places” instead of “principal players” and “standing room” only— Rowlandson underscores Clarke’s connection to the figure of the sexualized actress whose business is to publicly sell her body.
Thomas Rowlandson
More of the Clarke or Fresh Accusations
Etching and stipple with hand coloring
Published July 14, 1809, by Thomas Tegg
In this theatrical caricature, Clarke stands dramatically posed in front of a dressing table, mirror, and bed partially hidden behind curtains. The Duke of York has his back to Clarke and faces a jeering audience. Clarke compares the Duke to Felix, a biblical character who rose from slavery to become a corrupt governor. She proclaims, “Thou art the Man—behold the Furniture!,” a satiric reference to the lavish home decorations Clarke funded with the bribe money she received for army commissions. The Duke of York retorts that “it was all for the good of my Country. I assure you I am as firm a patriot as ever purchased a convex Mirror, or a red turkey Carpet.” Rowlandson places the two characters onstage to emphasize the depth of their morally suspect exchanges. Clarke’s blue empire-waist dress echoes images of the dress she appeared in for her first appearance before the House of Commons.
Thomas Rowlandson
Hell Broke Loose or the Devil to Pay among the Darling Angels
Etching and stipple with hand coloring
Published July 9, 1809, by Thomas Tegg
Clarke and the Duke are balanced in “hell” on a giant mock scale of justice with a large devil judge presiding between them. Clarke rides precariously on the side of “virtue.” The low neckline of her dress, accentuated by a string of pearls, highlights her sexuality and vanity. She appears to be grasping at the judge with outstretched arms. The Duke appears in military uniform riding on the scale of “patriotism,” unbalanced with his fists in the air. Rowlandson highlights the popular sentiment that Clarke and the Duke are “two of a trade” who “can never agree.” One is as bad as the other.