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No image number on slide
Portraits of Sylvester and Sally Manley
No image number on slide

Portraits of Sylvester and Sally Manley

Date1845
OriginAmerica, Connecticut, Columbia
MediumCut wove cream-colored paper with black fabric backing; hers, with watercolor or ink and graphite embellishments, his with watercolor or ink embellishments.
DimensionsHer primary support; irreg.: 3 7/8 x 3 3/4in. (9.8 x 9.5cm); His primary support; irreg.: 3 7/8 x 3 11/16in. (9.8 x 9.4cm); and Framed: 5 5/8 x 9 1/16in.
Credit LineGift of Mary B. and William Lehman Guyton
Object number1994.306.73
DescriptionBust-length, hollow-cut silhouettes of a man and woman, cut from separate pieces of paper but framed together, facing one another. Embellishing her image, a line of graphite parallels the cut line of her body and the back and top of her head; in front and in back of her body, below her collar, a short vertical row of dots occupies the space between cutting and graphite line. A tiny bit of black watercolor appears at the top of her head. His image includes a bridge of paper between the separately cut head and body; black watercolor defines part of his coat (and part is formed by the black fabric behind the hollow cutting). His shirt collar is folded down, creating an interesting dimensional effect.

Artist unidentified.
Label TextRegardless of whether multiple images were to be framed together, it was easiest to cut them separately, so this husband and wife were snipped from two pieces of paper. A graphite outline and rows of dots embellish Sally Manley's profile and are characteristic of the work of the unidentified artist. Sylvester Manley's collar was folded down crisply, creating an interesting dimensional effect.
InscribedIn pencil in script on the backboard is "Sylvester & his wife Sally Manley". Below this, running perpendicular to it, are penciled numerals (possibly the sitters' ages? Or arithmetical computations?). These seem to read "25/20/12/24". In pencil in script in the upper left corner of the back of the frame is "Sylvester Manley & wife /Sally" and, in ink in script in a different hand in the upper right coner of the back of the frame, is "Columbia 1845". The Guyton ‚ acc. no. "S251" appears in black ink on the back of the left frame member. No watermarks found.
ProvenanceGuyton (see "Source") notes he has genealogical information about the sitter that is still to be passed on to AARFAC; he does not give any previous ownership for the portrait.