Background
In 1810, through her father, she met William Godwin and Aaron Burr.
In 1810, through her father, she met William Godwin and Aaron Burr.
Her sister Sarah Curran was the fiancée of Robert Emmet. She later traveled to Rome and built up a close friendship and correspondence with Shelley"s second wife Mary. She returned to Rome in 1824, where she spent the rest of her life.
She painted Shelley several times.
These are among the few paintings of Shelley painted in his lifetime, and the only ones of him in his adulthood. They are noted for their androgynous features, and their striking similarity to Guido Reni"s painting of Beatrice Cenci, which was one of the poet"s favorite pictures.
Her 1819 portrait of Shelley was included in the 1905 book Women Painters of the World and hangs at the National Portrait Gallery in London. She also painted a portrait of Claire Clairmont and made copies of several Renaissance Madonnas.
She died in 1847 in Rome, and was buried in the Church of Saint Isidore.
The future Cardinal Newman presided at her funeral Massachusetts
