Miniature Portrait of Eli Ensign Root (?-?)

Dateca.1825

Attributed to Rufus Porter (1792-1884)

MediumWatercolor and ink on wove paper

DimensionsPrimary support): 4 1/8 x 3 1/4in. (10.5 x 8.3cm) Framed (without hanging ring): 5 1/16 x 4 3/16in. Framed (with hanging ring extended): 5 7/8 x 4 3/16in.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1958.300.11

DescriptionCut oval profile portrait of a young man facing left. He wears a dark blue coat shaded with gloss lack; a gray striped vest and a white upturned collar show at the neck. The features of the face are very delicately rendered and shaded with a stippling technique; the lips are red, eye blue, eyebrow brown. The structure of the ear is very pronounced & crisp. Delineation of the hair is very detailed; the hair is brown, wavy in front, and feathered at the temples.
Label TextFull face poses presented more challenges to the artist and were thus more time-consuming and more expensive for the client than "side views" or profiles. An 1815-1820 handbill of Porter's indicates that he charged three times as much for the former as for the latter. This profile is believed to represent Eli Ensign Root of Sheffield, Massachusetts. Under magnification, a delicate stippled‚ modeling technique can be observed in the rendering of the face, adding a degree of subtlety and sensitivity to the simplest variety of profile watercolor portrait offered by Porter at this point in his career.
MarkingsIncised in block letters in the lower front frame edge is "EER." Transcriptions in AARFAC records indicate that the frame backing or a secondary support bore the later penciled inscription "Eli Ensign Root, born Jan. 1800," but this backing or support is now missing. No watermark found.
ProvenanceJ. Stuart Halladay and Herrell George Thomas Sheffield, Mass., Halladay died in 1951, leaving his interest in their jointly-owned collection to his partner, Thomas. Thomas died in 1957, leaving his estate to his sister, Mrs. Albert N. Petterson, who was AARFAC's vendor.