Sarah Siddons of feminine propriety. Commissioned and completed in 1784, Sir Joshua Reynolds' portrait, "Sarah Siddons as The Tragic Muse", is characterized by Reynolds' inspiration, contextualisation of the Muse, and distinctive brush work and paint palette. This portrait, as Heather McPherson writes, became the known depiction of tragedy, infused with contemporary ideas about acting and representation of the passions in Siddons' melancholy expression and deportment. Mary Hamilton's correspondence with her fiancé illuminated its seamless transition from "the artist's studio to the theatrical stage", practical venues that interlocked in the eighteenth century and formed a large part in creating the very idea of
Sarah Siddons (horse) performance as "the race of her life". Sarah Siddons remained in training as a four-year-old but failed to win in five races. After finishing third over seven furlongs on her debut in the Gladness Stakes at the Curragh, she finished last of the twelve runners behind Arctic Tern in the Prix Ganay at Longchamp on 1 May. At York in August she produced her best performance of the year when finishing fourth behind Relkino, Artaius and Orange Bay in the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup. In October she was equipped with blinkers for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on