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Provenance

William R. Timken [1866-1949], New York; by inheritance to his widow, Lillian Guyer Timken [1881-1959], New York; bequest 1960 to NGA.

Technical Summary

The medium-fine canvas is plain woven; it has been lined and adhered to a wooden backing. The bottom of the lower curve of the oval is straight (not rounded), minuscule portions of the sitter's blue sleeves are visible at the lower edges, and the topmost portion of the oval is filled with recent paint to a depth of 0.8 cm above a horizontal line about 2 cm above the coiffure. It is probable, therefore, that the portrait was originally rectangular in format and has been cut down and added to at the top to form the present oval. The ground is white, smoothly applied and of moderate thickness. The painting is executed in very thin, rich, fluid layers, blended wet into wet, with light glazes in the cheeks. The painting is in good condition except for slight abrasion of the paint surface at the back of the neck and in the hair; there is very little retouching except for the top portion of the oval. The moderately thick dammar varnish, applied in 1960, has discolored yellow slightly.

Bibliography

1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 32, as by Francis Cotes.
1968
National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 25, repro., as by Francis Cotes.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 82, repro., as Circle of Francis Cotes.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 101, repro.
1992
Hayes, John. British Paintings of the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 44, repro. 45.

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