Miss Lambe

Lela Harris is an artist best known for her portraits often depicting those who have been overlooked or marginalised by history.

This portrait depicts Miss Lambe, a character from Jane Austen’s unfinished novel Sanditon (1817). Miss Lambe is unique in Austen’s novels as a character of African heritage. She is a wealthy young heiress, who had a ‘maid of her own’ and ‘was always of the first consequence in every plan’.

Harris’s portrait of Miss Lambe remains unfinished, echoing the unfinished nature of Sanditon, as well as the historic erasure of Black women from archival spaces.

To build a picture of Austen’s character beyond the incomplete manuscript, Harris used the technique of collage to imagine a visit to Harewood by Miss Lambe in 1817. Using 19th and 20th century imagery, she pieced together a vision of how a wealthy, mixed-heritage woman might have navigated and felt during such an experience, particularly in light of Harewood’s close connection to transatlantic slavery.

Found here

Simple floor plan of the west rooms and corridors of the State Floor

Music Room

This room is the most complete Robert Adam interior in the House. It is decorated to reflect a theme of…

Music Room

Initially, I imagined Miss Lambe looking directly at the viewer with a quiet sense of defiance. As the portrait evolved however, I found myself drawn back to Austen's description of her as 'precious', 'chilly' and 'tender'. In the context of transatlantic slavery, this rare portrayal of Black vulnerability and tenderness felt both powerful and necessary. I also took Austen at her word and imagined that Miss Lambe was quite literally 'chilly' as she adapted to the British climate from the Caribbean. She wears a ‘Sea-Side Walking Dress’ inspired by a fashion plate in The Lady's Magazine, so she's well wrapped up. Being able to draw on historic writing paper from Harewood's stationery cupboard was a real joy. It anchors the portrait in Harewood's complex history and I very much enjoyed the challenge of working across the slightly different surfaces."
Lela Harris - Contemporary Artist