Agnes Gordon Cochran Higginson (Mrs. Stephen Higginson), 1876

Not on View

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 68.3 x 56 cm (26 7/8 x 22 1/16 in.)

framed: 81.3 x 71.1 x 6.7 cm (32 x 28 x 2 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Augustus Vincent Tack

Accession Number

1953.9.2

Artists / Makers

George Fuller (artist) American, 1822 - 1884

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
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Provenance

The artist, Deerfield, Massachusetts; his estate until 1911;[1] his wife, Agnes Gordon Higginson Fuller [1838-1924], Deerfield, Massachusetts; her son, Arthur Negus Fuller [d. 1945], Deerfield, Massachusetts; his sister, Agnes Gordon Fuller Tack [Mrs. Augustus Vincent Tack], Deerfield, Massachusetts;[2] gift 1953 to NGA.

[1] "List of Pictures and Sketches in Deerfield Studio," February 1905 (Fuller Papers, Memorial Libraries, Deerfield, Massachusetts [AAA microfilm, 609, fr. 590]) includes a "Portrait of Grandmother Higginson."

[2] Letter of 24 January 1992 from Jeffrey Goodhue Legler, great-great-grandson of the artist (in NGA curatorial files) provides provenance information.

Associated Names

Fuller, Agnes Gordon Higginson
Fuller, Arthur Negus
Fuller, George
Tack, Agnes Gordon Fuller

Exhibition History

1876: Possibly shown at Doll and Richards, Boston, 1876.

1884: Probably Memorial Exhibition of the Works of George Fuller, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1884, no. 128, as Portrait of a Lady.

Technical Summary

The painting is on a medium-weight, plain-weave fabric support that has been lined. Cusping is present along all four of the cut edges. The red, coarsely textured ground is thick and uneven. Subsequent paint, of a stiff consistency, was applied with a complex layering technique. Underlying colors (particularly in the hair) were exposed by scratching into the still-wet paint with a pointed object - probably the end of a brush handle. The paint layers are wrinkled throughout, and a broad crackle pattern has developed. The unevenly applied varnish has yellowed.

Bibliography

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: 165, 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: 236-238, repro.