Taken in 1882 by Napoleon Sarony this is a wonderful portrait of Lillie Langtry (October 13, 1853 – February 12, 1929), who was famously the mistress of The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward (later Edward VII) and a successful stage actress.

This is quite a rare example, from a number of similar portraits taken during the same session while Mrs Langtry was wearing this very distinctive outfit. The surface of the portrait needed careful and close digital restoration to remove over 130 years of dirt, grime, and wear. The complex pattern of the fabric made the initial restoration a time consuming, but ultimately worthwhile task. To give the image greater depth some of the area in shadow was subtly accentuated. The finished picture

was colour tinted making a striking image that still

remains faithful to the original photograph.