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Provenance

The artist, Deerfield, Massachusetts; his estate until 1911; the sitter [1838-1924], Deerfield, Massachusetts.[1] her daughter, Agnes Gordon Fuller Tack [Mrs. Augustus Vincent Tack], Deerfield, Massachusetts; gift 1948 to NGA.

[2] Letter of 24 January 1992 from Jeffrey Goodhue Legler, great-great-grandson of the artist (in NGA curatorial files), provides provenance information and states that the sitter's will directed that the portrait be given to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Instead, it seems to have passed to her daughter.

Exhibition History

1884
Memorial Exhibition of the Works of George Fuller, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1884, no. 134, as Portrait.
1917
Exhibition of Paintings by George Fuller, A.N.A., Vose Galleries, Boston, 1917, no. 17.
1923
Centennial Exhibition of the Works of George Fuller, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1923, no. 2, as Portrait of Mrs. A. G. Fuller.

Technical Summary

The support is a medium-weight, plain-weave fabric. Stenciled on the reverse is "William Schaus / 303 / Broadway / New York." The cream-colored ground is of medium thickness. Paint was applied with considerable variety: thick and intermingled in the face, thinner and discontinuous in the dress, shawl, and collar. In the face, an extensive network of expressive lines has been drawn with the end of a brush, or similar tool, while the paint was still wet. Although repaired, two small tears, each about 1 cm long, are visible above the sitter's head and in her bodice. The paint is badly abraded, particularly in the lower half of the picture. Craquelure and wrinkling of the paint has occurred throughout, sometimes resulting in seepage of a white underlayer to the surface. The painting was last treated in 1948, when discolored varnish was removed and the painting was relined. Very small areas of inpainting are evident throughout. The varnish is thick, hazy, and has yellowed.

Bibliography

1959
Robb, David M., Jr. "George Fuller, American Barbizon Painter: A Study of his Life, Times and Works." B.A. thesis, Princeton University, 1959: 32, 64-65, 75, pl. 12.
1961
Homer, William Innes, and David M. Robb. "Paintings by George Fuller in American Museums and Public Collections." The Art Quarterly 24 (Autumn 1961): 294.
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 62, repro.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 164, repro.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 185, repro.
1996
Kelly, Franklin, with Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., Deborah Chotner, and John Davis. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 238-241, color repro.

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