Mrs. Paul Smith Palmer and Her Twins

1835/1838

Erastus Salisbury Field

Associated Names
Erastus Salisbury Field

Artist, American, 1805 - 1900

The artwork shows a woman and two children. The woman is seated and shown from the waist up. She has dark, intricately styled hair and is wearing a black dress with a white lace collar. She is wearing gold earrings and a necklace. She is holding one of the twins, who is seated on her lap. Both children are dressed in white dresses with red ribbons on the shoulders and are shown from the waist up. The twin on the left is holding an apple, while the one on the lap is holding a small, round object. The background is a plain, muted color.

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Recorded as from Massachusetts. Descended in the family of the sitter to Drewville Jeffery, whose wife was a descendant of the sitter. (John Esposito, city unknown), by whom sold in 1964 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1971.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1968

  • American Naive Painting of the 18th and 19th Centuries: 111 Masterpieces from the Col. of E.W. and B.C. Garbisch, traveling exh. by Amer. Fed. of Arts, N.Y., 1968-1970, no. 57, as M. Kranz. First venue: Gr. Palais, Paris.

1970

  • The New World, 1620-1970, Chrysler Art Museum, Provincetown, Massachusetts, 1970, no. 12.

1978

  • The American Folk Art Tradition: Paintings from the Garbisch Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978.

1980

  • Small Folk: A Celebration of Childhood in America, organized by Museum of American Folk Art, NGA loans shown at The New-York Historical Society, New York, 1980-1981, 51, no. 122, color repro. (cat. by Sandra Brant and Elissa Cullman).

1984

  • Erastus Salisbury Field: 1805-1900, traveling exhibition, 1984-1985, no. 41, fig. 69 (cat. by Mary C. Black). First venue: Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts.

1985

  • American Masterpieces from American Museums, Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1985-1986.

1990

  • Between the Rivers: Itinerant Painters from the Connecticut to the Hudson, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Inst., Williamstown; Mus. of Fine Arts, Springfield, 1990-1991, no. 27 (not shown at third venue, Hudson River Mus. of Westerchester, Younkers).

2012

  • Angels and Tomboys: Girlhood in 19th-Century American Art, Newark Museum; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, 2012-2013, pl. 3.

2015

  • A Perfect Likeness: Folk Portraits and Early Photography, Fenimore Art Museum, New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, 2015, no catalogue.

Bibliography

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 160, repro.

1990

  • Miele, Frank J. "Between the Rivers: Itinerant Painters from the Connecticut to the Hudson." Antiques Journal 8, no. 11 (May 1990): 8, 102, 108, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 180, repro.

  • 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: 119, 122, color repro. 120.

Wikidata ID

Q20185900

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