Elizabeth Denison

c. 1790

The Denison Limner

Painter, American, active c. 1790

Joseph Steward

Painter, American, 1753 - 1822

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Artwork overview


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Descended from Nathaniel and Elizabeth Denison [1773-1849] Ledyard, Stonington, Connecticut;[1] their son, William Ledyard; his widow, Fanny Worthington Ledyard; Amelia Stuart Worthington; her son, Worthington Whitehouse; sold (?) to John Quinn [1870-1924], New York, by 12 December 1918.[2] Maude Wetmore, Newport, Rhode Island. (James St. Lawrence O'Toole). (M. Knoedler and Co., New York); sold 1947 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift 1953 to NGA.
[1] The provenance of this portrait suggests that its subject is Elizabeth Denison [1773-1849], the eldest child of Captain Elisha Denison and Elizabeth Noyes Denison. In 1793 the younger Elizabeth married Nathaniel Ledyard, in whose family the portrait descended.
[2] Letter dated 12 December 1918 from Worthington Whitehouse to John Quinn refers to "The portrait which you got from me..." (letter in NGA curatorial files).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1957

  • American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part II, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1957, no. 15.

1958

  • Little-Known Connecticut Artists, 1790-1810, Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, 1958 (cat. by Nina Fletcher Little) in Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin 22 (October 1957), no. 18.

1966

  • American Folk Painting and Sculpture, Museum of Early American Folk Arts (now Museum of American Folk Art), Time-Life Exhibit Center, New York, 1966, no cat.

1968

  • The American Primitive Paintings Exhibit, organized by the Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, California, for de Saisset Art Gallery, University of Santa Clara, 1968.

1976

  • Paintings by New England Provincial Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1976, no. 35 (cat. by Nina Fletcher Little).

1979

  • Three Centuries of Connecticut Folk Art, traveling exh. organized by Art Resources of Connecticut, 5 venues, 1979-1980, no. 110 (shown only at first venue, Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, 1979).

1985

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, traveling exhibition by the International Exhibitions Foundation, Washington, 1985-1987, no. 23, color repro. First venue: Museum of American Folk Art, N.Y.

1988

  • La Nascita di Una Nazione: Pittori americani dalla National Gallery of Art di Washington 1730-1880, Palazzo Pepoli Campogrande, Bologna; Galleria Internazionale d'Arte Moderna di Ca'Pesaro, Venice, 1988-1989, no. 23, repro.

1993

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 1993-1994.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, Savannah, Georgia, 1993.

1994

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Louisiana Arts and Science Center, Baton Rouge, 1994-1995.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Heckscher Museum, Huntington, New York, 1994.

1995

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), McKissick Museum, Columbia, South Carolina, 1995.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Pensacola Museum of Art, Florida, 1995.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Boise Art Museum, Idaho, 1995.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), St. John's Museum of Art, Wilmington, North Carolina, 1995-1996.

1996

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California, 1996.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Maier Museum of Art, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, Virginia, 1996.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainseville, 1996-1997.

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1996.

1997

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, 1997.

1998

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art (NGA National Lending Service exhibition), Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut, 1998.

Bibliography

1926

  • Watson, Forbes. "The John Quinn Collection, Part III." The Arts 9 (February 1926): 81, 84, as Laura Dennison by Gilbert Stuart.

1966

  • Black, Mary, and Jean Lipman. American Folk Painting. New York, 1966: 20, 21, repro., 32.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 136, repro., as Lady with Plumed Headdress by Unknown American.

1972

  • Schloss, Christine Skeeles. The Beardsley Limner and Some Contemporaries: Postrevolutionary Portraiture in New England, 1775-1805. Exh. cat. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, Va., 1972: 36.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 279, repro., as Lady with Plumed Headdress by Unknown American.

1981

  • Harlow, Thompson R. "The Life and Trials of Joseph Steward." Connecticut Historical Society Bulletin 46 (October 1981): 111, 117, 126, 129.

1990

  • Garrett, Elisabeth Donaghy. At Home: The American Family 1750-1870. repro. 263.

1992

  • Chotner, Deborah, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash, and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naive Paintings. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 86-88, repro. 87.

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 157, repro.

1996

  • American Naive Paintings: From the National Gallery of Art. American Art Review, Vol. VIII, No. 6, 1996, no. 132, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20179760


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