Sarah Lloyd Hillhouse
Ellen Sharples was a pioneering female artist who made a name for herself capturing the elite of late 18th-century society in soft, powdery pastels. This delicate profile of Sarah Lloyd Hillhouse showcases the incredibly fashionable 'pouf' hairstyle of the era, towering high and decorated with ribbons and flowers. Sharples often worked in America and England, capturing likenesses with a gentle realism that felt incredibly modern for its time. Her profile portraits were so popular that she could charge a premium for them, making her one of the few financially independent women artists of her day.