This website presents our knowledge and research on this important aspect of the Royal Collection. As of April 2026 it will not be regularly updated and new research on this topic will sit within the main website.

Portraiture

Prince Albert was an early adopter of portrait photography

ATTRIBUTED TO? FRANCES SALLY DAY (1815-92)

Frances Noel, Countess of Gainsborough (1814-85)

c.1859

Albumen print | 7.8 x 5.7 cm (image) | RCIN 2910630

Photograph of a full length portrait of Frances Noel, Countess of Gainsborough (1814-85) seated, facing three-quarters to the left. She looks ahead, away from the camera, and holds a handkerchief in her right hand. She poses in front of a shrub climbing up a wall. Photograph taken in Osborne.

The Countess was Lady of the Bedchamber between 1837 and 1872 and Extra Lady of the Bedchamber from 1873.
  • Creator(s)

    Attributed to? Frances Sally Day (1815-92) (photographer)

    Subject(s)

    Frances Noel, Countess of Gainsborough (1814-85)
  • annotation: Countess Gainsborough. [beneath work]

  • 7.8 x 5.7 cm (image)

    9.3 x 6.5 cm (mount)

    23.1 x 18.0 cm (page dimensions)

  • Countess of Gainsborough. [Royal Household Portraits. Volume 57.]

  • Acquired by Prince Albert

  • Object type(s)
      • visual works
        • photographs