Possibly Mrs. William Sheldon
c. 1831
Painter, American, 1813 - 1843
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on wood
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 104.1 x 77.5 cm (41 x 30 1/2 in.)
framed: 117.8 x 91.4 x 5 cm (46 3/8 x 36 x 1 15/16 in.) -
Accession
1953.5.51
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Mrs. Jerome Bonapart Sheldon [née Caroline Grover, c. 1829-1872 or later], Unionville, Ohio.[1] Purchased in Clyde, New York, by (Downtown Gallery, New York), by whom sold in 1948 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1953.
[1] An inscription (no longer visible, but known through a photograph) on the reverse of this portrait reads, Mrs. J. B Sheldon / Unionville, O. Based on this inscription, this and its male companion portrait have long been thought to represent Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Sheldon of Unionville, Ohio. However, residents of J. B. Sheldon's home have discovered that these Sheldons are not the sitters, but rather were later owners of the paintings (Jim and Gerri Regan, undated letter received 14 July 1989, in NGA curatorial file). Comparison with Powers' handwriting on the reverse of his other portraits clearly indicates that another hand is responsible for this inscription.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1948
The American Family, Folk Paintings 1750-1850, Downtown Gallery, New York, 1948, no. 5, as Mrs. J. B. Sheldon.
1954
American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part I, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1954, no. 56, as Mrs. J. B. Sheldon.
1955
American Primitive Pantings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1955.
1957
American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part II, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1957.
1973
Asahel Powers: Painter of Vermont Faces, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, 1973, no. 26, as Mrs. J. B. Sheldon, (cat. by Nina Fletcher Little).
2010
American Naive Paintings from the Garbisch Collection at the National Gallery of Art, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia, 2010, no cat.
2019
Edith Halpert: The Downtown Gallery and the Rise of American Art, Jewish Museum, New York, New York, 2019 - 2020, unnumbered catalogue, repro.
Bibliography
1949
Ford, Alice. Pictorial Folk Art: New England to California. New York and London, 1949: 72-73.
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 90, repro., as Mrs. J.B. Sheldon.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 211, repro.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 543, no. 818, color repro., as Mrs. J.B. Sheldon.
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: 291, 294, color repro. 292.
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 265, repro.
Inscriptions
on reverse (no longer visible, photograph in object file [1953.5.51] in NGA curatorial records): Mrs. J. B Sheldon / Unionville, O
Wikidata ID
Q20185750