Autograph letter signed by writer Lady Elizabeth Eastlake about her husband 1853

EASTLAKE, Elizabeth, Lady (1809-1893). Autograph Letter Signed, written on behalf of Sir Charles Eastlake concerning the attribution of a Renaissance painting. 7 Fitzroy Square, 18 March 1853.
 
Autograph letter signed, single sheet folded, 4 pp., written in brown ink. Dated at head "7 Fitzroy Square, March 18. 1853". Small area of surface abrasion to the final blank page from previous mounting, not affecting the text. Very good condition.
 
Written by Lady Eastlake on behalf of her husband, Sir Charles Eastlake (1793-1865), then President of the Royal Academy and later the first Director of the National Gallery. Explaining that Sir Charles is "more than usually occupied just now", she replies to an enquiry concerning the attribution of a painting.
 
Lady Eastlake was among the leading art historians and critics of Victorian Britain, a regular contributor to the Quarterly Review, translator of Waagen's Treasures of Art in Great Britain, and an influential figure in the development of the National Gallery alongside her husband. Letters directly concerning questions of artistic attribution and connoisseurship are uncommon.