Portrait of Rose Ann Bushnell (ca. 1847-?)

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 number1984.300.1

DescriptionHalf-length profile portrait of a seated young girl facing right. She wears a white dress with short sleeves gathered over the arm, trimmed with three buttons over the arm. Two strands of a necklace appear around her neck. A pale lavender ribbon is tied in her hair at the nape of her neck. Her near hand is raised in front of her, and in it she holds a rose. Her chin-length light brown hair is tucked behind her ear. She sits ina orange-ish red upholstered arm chair with yellow-painted frame. A gray cloverleaf-shaped cloud behind her head helps define her features.
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 Rose Ann 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 Rose Ann 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 Richard Oliver Bushnell (1836-?). The entire group descended through the family of James Augustus Bushnell to his great-granddaughter, who donated them to the Folk Art Museum.

MarkingsA blind stamp appears in the lower left corner: "J WHATMAN/TURKEY MILL" in an oval surrounding a crown.
ProvenanceThis miniature descended, along with 1980.300.1, 1981.300.1, 1982.300.1, and 1983.300.1, 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.