Miss Nelly O'Brien

early to mid nineteenth century

Shown from the lap up and shaded entirely in tones of golden yellow, laurel green, and black, a pale-skinned woman cradles a small, furry dog in her arms in this vertical portrait. The woman’s body is squared toward us, and she looks directly out with slate-blue eyes. She has an oval face with a delicate nose, long chin, and her pale pink lips are closed in a slight smile. Her brown hair is pulled back under a tan-colored hat lined on the underside with translucent cloth and on the top with sage-green ribbons or ruffles. A choker of thumbnail-sized pearls encircles her neck. Her dress has a deep V in the front and the elbow-length sleeves end with layers of lacy ruffles. Curving black lines suggest a pattern on sheer black fabric that covers pale yellow and frosty green stripes of the bodice. The dog has long, light-colored fur and a dark, bead-like nose and eyes. Vines grow up and from the top of a stone column in the background to the right, and the rest of the shallow space is filled with shrubs and plants. A bright yellow spot near the top left corner suggests a strong light source coming from that area, which casts her face in a diffuse shadow under the hat’s brim.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 76 x 64 cm (29 15/16 x 25 3/16 in.)
    framed: 99.7 x 87 x 7.6 cm (39 1/4 x 34 1/4 x 3 in.)

  • Accession

    1942.9.76


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

William Angerstein [b. 1811], Woodlands, Blackheath, Kent [England] (anon. [Angerstein] sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 20 June 1874, no. 109), bought by (Henry Graves & Co.), London. William Stuart Stirling-Crawfurd [d. 1883], Milton, Lanark; bequeathed to his wife, the Hon. Caroline Agnes [c. 1816-1894], previously Duchess of Montrose (sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 4 May 1895, no. 84), bought by McLean,[1] who sold it to (Shepherd Brothers), London. (Avery), from whom it was purchased 1895 by P.A.B. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Inheritance from the Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, 1942.
[1] Probably Thomas McLean, London, the dealer, who dissolved his partnership in 1902, and sold his stock at Christie's, 15 November 1902 and 21 November 1903.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1915

  • Roberts, William. Pictures in the Collection of P.A.B. Widener at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania: British and Modern French Schools, Philadelphia, 1915: unpaginated, repro., as by Sir joshua Reynolds.

1923

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro., as by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

1931

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 28, repro., as by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

1942

  • Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 6, as by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 350, 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: 224-225, repro. 225.

Wikidata ID

Q20180875


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