Young Lady Seated in a Chair Artist: Unknown

ca. 1820

American Paintings and Sculpture

Not on view


This richly detailed portrait of a woman in a domestic setting is a harbinger of the new larger and bolder style of miniature introduced in the Jacksonian Era. The rectangular shape and gleaming rich colors produce the effect of a tiny oil painting, designed to hang on the wall as part of a cluster of familial images. The ocean view in the distant background, with a ship bearing an American flag, suggests that the sitter’s husband may be at sea. The unusual frame, made of whale baleen, also points to the likelihood that this exquisite portrait originated from a seafaring region—coastal Massachusetts or Nantucket, perhaps.

Medium

Watercolor on ivory

Dimensions

5 × 4 1/4 in. (12.7 × 10.8 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Davida Tenenbaum Deutsch in memory of Alvin Deutsch, LL.B. 1958, and in honor of Kathleen Luhrs and Robin Jaffee Frank, Ph.D. 1995

Loan number

ILE1999.3.24

Geography

Probably made in United States

Culture

American

Period

19th century

Classification

Models

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Sale, Sotheby's Arcade, July 17, 1984, lot 94; sold to Davida Tenenbaum Deutsch and Alvin Deutsch (1932--2021) , New York, July 17, 1984 (on loan as a promised gift to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 1999–2022); given to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2022
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States

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