The Fitzwilliam Museum - University of Cambridge

John Everett Millais
(1829–1896)
Twins: Kate and Grace Hoare
Oil on canvas
153.5 x 113.7 cm
Accepted by H.M. Government
in lieu of Inheritance Tax from
the estate of Mrs Jean Wynne
and allocated to the Fitzwilliam
Museum in accordance with
her wishes.
PD.36-2005
The young women in this portrait are
Kate Edith (1856–1948) and Grace Maud
(1856–1946), two of the fourteen children
of Thomas Rolls Hoare, a wealthy paint
and varnish manufacturer of the firm
Noble & Hoare. Millais began the portrait
in December 1875 and completed it the
following August for a fee of 1500
guineas. At some point during these
months he was required to change the
costume worn by the girls from a riding
habit to the dresses which they now wear,
but Kate still holds a riding crop as if she
has returned from, or is poised for a ride.
The painting was exhibited at the
Grosvenor Gallery in 1878, where it was
praised for its fresh and natural air. The
critic of The Times described the girls as
‘two Maid Marians of the 19th century,
looking as if they had been brought up
on the air of the woods and moors.’
Others praised Millais’s ability to convey
the twins’ physical resemblance while at
the same time evoking their very
distinctive characters by means of gesture
and posture: Kate more serene and
engaging, Grace more highly-strung and
anxious. Both girls went on to marry
naval officers.
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