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
Henry Siddons by Siddons on 29 January 1810. On 15 January 1811 Siddons produced the "Lady of the Lake"; an adaptation in which he himself played Fitzjames. But he was fighting an uphill battle, and lost much money. He died whilst visiting Edinburgh on 12 April 1815. Siddons' sister, Cecilia Siddons, later married George Combe, a prominent Edinburgh lawyer, and the founder of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard in the centre of the city. A large monument was erected to him in the south-west corner, just left of the entrance to the Covenanters Prison. His wife Harriot