When Mary Black charged £25 for a commissioned portrait in 1764 – half of what a man would expect to be paid – she was met by outrage from the sitter.
Despite her being a professional artist, physician Messenger Monsey bemoaned her request to be compensated in correspondence with his cousin in which they called “saucy” for asking for money, that her reputation would be sullied and ultimately labelling her “a slut”.
