Portrait of Mrs. Seth Wilkinson

DateProbably 1827-1830

Attributed to Lyman Parks (Formerly known as the Wilkinson Limner) (active ca. 1824-ca. 1830)

OriginAmerica, New York, Eastern (probably)

MediumOil on tulip poplar panel

DimensionsUnframed: 30 x 25 1/2in. (76.2 x 64.8cm) and Framed: 39 1/4 x 33 1/4in.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1960.100.2

DescriptionA half-length portrait of a woman shown seated and turned slightly towards the viewer's right. Her head is turned slightly towards the viewer and her gaze is on the viewer. She is seated on a red upholstered sofa with a gilt rosette at the scroll of the arm. Next to her on the sofa stands a small, brown-spotted, white spaniel seen in profile; the dog stands on its hind legs, its proper right foreleg against the woman's bodice and the woman's hand supporting its proper left fore foot. The dog gazes upwards at the woman. The woman wears a long-sleeved black dress, belted at the natural waist with a gold, three-pronged buckle; the dress's sleeves are puffed over the upper arms. The neckline is dominated by a large white lace collar assymetrically secured with a small gold brooch or button. A two-tiered drop earring, each tier of multiple stones and circular in design, dangles from her visible ear lobe. She also wears a simple gold ring on the index finger of her proper right hand. She has dark brown eyes. Her black, center-parted hair is waved and curled, the mass of it being pulled to the back of her head and secured by a large tortoiseshell comb. Red drapery hangs to either side of the comb, some of it swagged and some of it hanging straight down in folds (the latter bearing a gold binding).

The Dutch-style 5 1/4-inch frame is a replacement. It is mahogany, dished in profile, and incorporates applied bands of gilded guilloche molding.
Label TextArtists did not always sign their works, but a distinctive style or key traits repeated in several paintings may suggest that the same person created all of them. When this occurs, researchers often assign the unidentified artist a title so that his or her body of work is recognized. Twenty portraits are attributed to the artist who depicted Mrs. Seth Wilkinson, and because her likeness was among the first studied, her name became the title for the maker. The word “limner” means “painter.”

Circumstantial evidence suggests that the Wilkinson Limner started painting while serving a sentence for counterfeiting at the state prison in Charlestown, Massachusetts. About 1827, he began creating more luxurious settings for his sitters; Mrs. Wilkinson’s rich surroundings reflect the new trend. It was recorded that Mrs. Wilkinson married the captain of a New York fire brigade, but her history remains elusive.

New research by scholar Deborah M. Child identifies the Wilkinson Limner as Lyman Parks, a bank note counterfeiter who served a two-year sentence in the Massachusetts State prison. (For more information see Child's article in Antiques and Fine Arts, Autumn 2017.)

ProvenanceFound in New York state and purchased from an unidentified dealer by the uncle of W. V. Hope-Johnstone, London, England; M. Knoedler and Co., New York, NY.

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