The Life and Times of Georgiana Jane Keate (1771-1850)

Georgiana Henderson, née Keate, was a talented painter who had exhibited four pictures at the Society of Artists by the age of 20.  She was the daughter of George Keate (1729-1797), an English poet and versatile author, also known as a naturalist, antiquary and artist, who travelled extensively and became a friend of Voltaire. He was elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and Fellow of the Royal Society in 1766.

Moving in the highest ranks of Society, Georgiana flourished in a period when rational thought and new discoveries opened up the world. She was painted as a young girl by Angelica Kauffmann and later by John Russell, R. A.

We share her experiences through the  people she met and the events she witnessed - the Gordon Riots, the first manned balloon flights and the arrival of an exotic visitor from the South Seas. The lecture is lavishly illustrated by sketches, drawings and paintings by herself, her father and her husband John Henderson, an early patron of Thomas Girtin and JMW Turner and an amateur artist himself.