Portrait of Richard Oliver Bushnell (ca. 1836-?)

Dateca. 1849

Attributed to James Sanford Ellsworth (1803-1875)

OriginAmerica, Connecticut, West Hartland (probably)

MediumWatercolor on wove paper, framed

DimensionsPrimary support: 3 1/4 x 2 9/16in. (8.3 x 6.5cm) and Framed: 4 1/4 x 3 1/2in.

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Ann Bushnell Brown

Object number1983.300.1

DescriptionHalf-length profile portrait of a seated boy facing left. He wears a black coat, white shirt, blue-green and white checked waistcoat, and tied that has blue-green and buff in it in a figure or check. His eyes are bright blue, his hair greyish-brown and cut in a short bob, parted on the near side. He sits in a blue-green upholstered arm chair whose frame is red grain-painted, with rolled arms. Behind his head is a cloverleaf-shaped cloud or nimbus that helps define his features. His arms hang down by his sides, and his hands are not visible.
The frame is a modern one, a 5/8-inch flat mahogany frame with
mahogany-veneered face and with a circular brass hanger at the center top.
Label TextJames Sanford Ellsworth's miniature portrait of Richard Oliver Bushnell typifies the half-length profiles for which the artist is best known. It also includes the most popular of six variations of an abbreviated, curvilinear, stylized chair used by Ellsworth in his small-scale work. Differing colors of chair frames and upholstery helped diversify his images and individualize them. Color may also have been a factor in persuading Bushnell to invest in a painted portrait instead of a photograph. Coloring was uncommon at this early date in the history of photography; when done, it was limited to relatively pale, hand-applied washes.
The museum also owns Ellsworth miniatures of Richard Oliver Bushnell's parents, Oliver Wells Bushnell (1805-1892) and Almira Marks Bushnell (?-1887), and two more of their children, James Augustus Bushnell (1829-1897) and Rose Ann Bushnell (ca. 1847-?). The entire group descended through the family of James Augustus Bushnell to his great-granddaughter, who donated them to the Folk Art Museum.

ProvenanceThis miniature descended, along with 1980.300.1, 1981.300.1, 1982.300.1, and 1984.300.1, from James Augustus Bushnell (subject of 1982.300.1), through his family to Mrs. Fred Forbes Bushnell of Manchester, Conn., thence to AARFAM's donor, Mrs. Ann Bushnell Brown, great-granddaughter of James Augustus Bushnell.