Profile of a Boy

Dateca. 1820

Attributed to Ruth Henshaw Bascom (1772 - 1848)

MediumPastel on paper

DimensionsPrimary support: 16 7/8 x 13 1/16in. (42.8 x 33.2cm) and Framed: 19 7/16 x 15 1/8 x 3/4in.

Credit LineGift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Object number1931.200.1

DescriptionA bust-length profile portrait of a young boy facing left against a solid blue background. He wears a dark blue jacket with gold buttons and a shirt showing a large white collar. He has brown hair and brown eyes. The outline of the eye is done in pencil.

The 2-inch lap-joined, flat frame is stained brown and is possibly original.
Label TextRuth Bascom created portraits more for pleasure than for profit. She once recorded in her diary that she spent 25 cents for a sheet of paper, then sold the likeness she drew on it for 20 cents.
ProvenanceFound in Bridgeport, Conn.; Edith Gregor Halpert, Downtown Gallery, New York, NY; purchased from Halpert by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., by whom given to CWF.