Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse them look like actual sculptures in the fashion they were usually depicted in the classical style. Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse is a 1784 oil painting by Joshua Reynolds. Mrs. Sarah Siddons: Sarah Siddons was a well-known actress of the 18th century who became famous for her role as Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. Born Sarah Kemble, aged 18 she married William Siddons, also an actor, and they had seven children of who only two survived. Sarah's parents sent her to work as a lady's maid and with this job she was exposed to the
Sarah Siddons protective cage. Siddons sat for numerous artists, and her portraits include many that depict her in costume portraying a theatrical role. American director Joseph L. Mankiewicz used the 1784 portrait by Reynolds extensively in his film "All About Eve", winner of the 1950 Academy Award for Best Picture. The portrait is seen at the top of an entrance staircase in Margo Channing's apartment, appearing throughout a party scene, and emphasized by a close-up with which the scene ends. Mankiewicz also invented the (then) fictitious Sarah Siddons Society for the film, along with its award, a statuette modelled upon the Reynolds