MANNER OF JOHN SINGER SARGENT (1856-1925) Portrait of a suffragette, possibly Lady Constance Bulwer-Lytton

wearing a lilac sash with a cane in her right hand, depicted half-length, unsigned, oil on canvas laid on board, 72cm x 58cm

Note: Lady Constance Bulwer-Lytton (1869-1923) was a prominent suffragette and member of the Women’s Social and Political Union. Born into a wealthy family, she invented the alias of Jane Wharton, a London seamstress, to avoid receiving any special treatment. Imprisoned four times and force-fed, her tireless campaigning is thought to have led to her early death at the age of 54.