Posted on Monday 5 November 2007
At Thomas H
ardy’s former home a portrait of Agatha Thornycroft, the woman who inspired the writer's character Tess of the d’Urbervilles, has been unveiled.
Agatha Thornycroft along with milkmaid Augusta Way and Jenny Phillips (one of the Hardy’s servants) was one of the three women who were an inspiration for Tess.
The portrait was painted in 1884 when Agatha was 20, and at one point was owned by her nephew, Siegfried Sassoon. The portrait has now been bought by Andrew Leah, who is a tenant of Hardy’s former home Max Gate in Dorchester.
by Michou Gerits