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
Mary Frances Scott-Siddons and recited two lyrical pieces. In 1881, she assumed in London the management of the Haymarket Theater. From this time, she gave most of her attention to dramatic readings, though appearing occasionally as an actress. On 23 April 1888, she made her appearance as a reader at Steinway Hall, New York, accompanied by her adopted son, the child prodigy, Henry Waller, formerly known as "Seraphael". While Mrs. Scott-Siddons lived to act, her husband was devoted to alcohol. This caused their separation, and eventually his death in Australia in 1903. After 1881 she lived in semi-retirement. She died at Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris,