A three-quarter length portrait of a young girl with her hat on her arm, wearing a white dress.…

Kate Hollowbush

Artist George Washington Conarroe (American, 1803 - 1882)

Sitter Kate Hollowbush (American, 1850 - 1861)

Date1861

Mediumoil on canvas

DimensionsCanvas: 36 5/16 × 29 1/4 inches (92.2 × 74.3 cm)
Framed: 48 × 41 × 5 1/2 inches (121.9 × 104.1 × 14 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Gertrude West Hollowbush.

Object number1988.3.1

On View

Not on view

CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextKate Hollowbush was eleven years old when this portrait was commissioned. She was the only daughter of Jacob and Adelaide Hollowbush; her father was a prosperous Philadelphia bookseller and stationer. In July of 1861, the year this portrait was painted, young Kate died. It is likely that this work was commissioned to capture the beauty of a beloved child as her life ebbed away. George Washington Conarroe was a prolific portraitist based in Philadelphia. There is no evidence that he had formal training in figure painting, but he was skilled at rendering likeness. Although the figure seen here is somewhat awkward, he convincingly captures the melancholy beauty of this young girl through the careful rendering of surfaces and textures.

Collections