"Mary Ann"

DateProbably 1826

Artist Ira Chaffee Goodell (1800-ca. 1875)

MediumOil on tulipwood panel.

DimensionsUnframed: 26 1/2 x 23 5/8in. (67.3 x 60cm) and Framed: 31 3/8 x 28 1/2in.

Credit LineGift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Object number1936.100.15

DescriptionWaist length portrait of young woman slightly facing right seated in yellow-green thumb- back chair. She wears a blue-green dress with a red shawl, red belt, and white ruching collar. She wears her hair parted in the middle with curls to the sides, a tortoise- shell comb in back and a red and green striped ribbon to each side in front. A matching ribbon is worn just below the neckline on the front of the dress. The head is shaded in pink and a medium red-brown particularly around the eyes and nose. The background is grey.
Label TextIra Goodell's early portraits, like this one, rely heavily on linear definition of facial features, and red is a prominent hue in their modeling. An inscription on the reverse of this panel indicates that Mary Ann was nineteen years old when painted and that her surname began with the letter "Y." Unfortunately, the remaininder of the word is now illegible.
MarkingsPainted in red script on the reverse of the panel is "-Mary Ann Y-/Aged 19/Drawn by I. C. G. -/May 1826 (or possibly 1820)".
ProvenanceFound by Katrina Kipper and purchased from Edith Gregor Halpert by Mrs. Rockefeller. Given to C. W. by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.