The Taming of the Shrew: Ada Rehan (1859-1916) as Katherina at the Gaiety Theatre 1888.

She excelled at classic comedy, in such Shakespearean roles as Mrs. Ford, Katherina, Helena, Rosalind, Viola and Beatrice. William Winter wrote, “Her physical beauty was of the kind that appears in portraits of women by Romney and Gainsborough—ample, opulent, and bewitching—and it was enriched by the enchantment of superb animal spirits." This 19th c. picture should be compared to the first one in this gallery section, showing Olivier in this role, in order to see the progression from 19th c. opulence to 20th c. experimentalism. HMR Courtesy of the Hampden-Booth Library, New York.