After Samuel de Wilde. A naive folk art oil on board portrait painting of Nancy Dawson

After Samuel de Wilde. A naive folk art oil on board portrait painting of Nancy Dawson, standing holding a flower, 52.9 x 38.3cm, in an ebonised moulded frame.

Nancy Dawson was the stage name of Ann Newton (1728-1767). A London actress and dancer, she rose to fame performing a solo rendition of a hornpipe between acts in The Beggar's Opera at Covent Garden Theatre in 1769.