'Caroline Herschel'

Head and shoulder portrait of Caroline Herschel, from a painting by Tielemann (1829) 'in the possession of Sir J. W. Herschel'.

Caroline Herschel reports in a letter to her nephew dated 3 March 1829 that 'I have suffered much during this severe winter, and have not been able to leave my habitation above three or four times for the last three months, and feel, moreover, much fatigued by sitting eight times within the last ten days to Professor Tielemann for having my picture taken, which he did at my apartment, and now he has taken it home to finish.'

This, a silhouette, and another portrait, again made in Hanover from 1848 when Caroline was 97 are the only portraits ever produced of Caroline. Both have been widely copied and distributed (although often cropped).

Object Details

ID: PAH6061
Type: Print
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Professor Tielemann
People: Herschel, Caroline Lucretia
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Herschel Collection
Measurements: Overall: 317 x 255 mm