Adelaide Anne ('Mary Berick') Procter
- Artist: (George) Herbert Watkins
- Date: circa 1861
- Medium: albumen carte-de-visite
- Dimensions: 3 1/2 in. x 2 1/4 in. (89 mm x 56 mm) image size
- Portrays: Adelaide Anne ('Mary Berick') Procter
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
In this small albumen carte‑de‑visite you see Adelaide Anne Procter, the poet who used the name “Mary Berwick.” The image is just 3½ in. by 2¼ in., a quick snapshot captured in 1861 by photographer (George) Herbert Watkins. He prints his work with fine detail, showing her face, eyes, and the faint outline of hair that frames her head.
Procter was an early Victorian poet whose verses appeared in Charles Dickens’ periodicals “Household Words” and “All the Year Round.” After converting to Catholicism in 1851 she devoted herself to charity and women’s rights. As a member of the Langham Place Group, she worked with fellow feminists such as Bessie Rayner Parkes and Barbara Leigh Smith.
This portrait is part of the National Portrait Gallery’s photograph collection, acquired in 1973. It offers a brief, intimate glimpse into a woman who pushed literature and social reform forward in her time.
See it in person
Adelaide Anne ('Mary Berick') Procter is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
