"Dear Little Girls"

The Three Robinson Sisters, 1846

George Theodore Berthon

Painting, oil on canvas

I often receive questions about the identity of the young women in this piece.  Because the story behind the commissioning of this painting is so touching, I would like to share it with everyone here.

The three women (Augusta in black, Louisa in white, and Emily in pink) are daughters of Toronto-based Chief Justice Sir John Beverley Robinson.  Their fine dress, exacting curls and marble skin give away their membership to the ruling elite of the growing city. While Augusta has already been married, her two younger sisters are about to enjoy a double wedding day.  The three husbands (also of the ruling class) commissioned this portrait of their glowing brides with the intention of presenting the work to the girls’ parents on the day of the ceremony.  Sir Robinson later wrote to Berthon and praised the artist’s skill in rendering such a faithful depiction of his “dear little girls”.

Berthon, (b. Vienna, 1806, d. Toronto 1892) had been taught painting by his father who himself was a court painter to Napoleon Bonaparte. Berthon eventually immigrated to Toronto via England in 1844. With his training, skill, and obvious connections, he soon established himself as a portraitist for some of the most powerful families in Canada West – including the Robinsons.

You can see this nearly life-size ¾ portrait on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. For more information, visit The Canadian Dictionary of Biography or read Anne Newlands, Canadian Paintings, Prints and Drawings, 2007.