A Lady from Providence, Rhode Island
Artist
Unknown
Datec. 1825 - 1830
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsFramed: 30 × 25 inches (76.2 × 63.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Fenton L. B. Brown.
Object number1975.10.3
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 Text‘American portrait of Lady from Providence, Rhode Island, ca. 1825-1830.’ This is the only information about the painting given to its buyer, Fenton L. Brown, who donated the portrait to the Owens Thomas House in 1975. Brown was a collector and later a dealer with his partner Francis Bealey in Essex, Connecticut, specializing in fine New York Classical mahogany furniture from the school of Duncan Phyfe.
But what information may be gleaned from the portrait itself?
We know that her family is affluent because her portrait was painted in oil on canvas and framed beautifully. Affluent women in this era were severely limited in their activities. The home was the center of entertainment, and women served as hostesses for the men in their household. For this occupation, they required a substantial wardrobe of fashionable clothes. Our Lady is wearing a black silk satin evening dress with gigot sleeves and low, off-the-shoulder neckline - all fashionable c. 1830. Her hair style became popular about 1829, is known as à la Chinoise and was created by pulling the back and side hair into a knot at the top of the head while hair at the forehead and temples was arranged in waves or curls.
In the 1830s, even day dresses had sleeves set low on the shoulder which impeded arm movement, making one virtually incapable of performing any physical labor. Accomplishments such as sewing, embroidering, modeling in wax, sketching, painting on glass or china, or decorating other functional objects were encouraged. Women of the affluent class had servants who performed all the household work. Women of working-class families, however, did toil at a variety of tasks, and their garments were less hampering and more practical of form.