The Talcott Family

Date1832

Artist Deborah Goldsmith (1808-1836)

OriginAmerica, New York, Hamilton area (probably)

MediumWatercolor, pencil, and gold paint on wove paper

DimensionsOther (Primary support): 14 1/4 x 17 3/4in. (36.2 x 45.1cm) Framed: 18 x 21 3/8 x 1 1/4in. (45.7 x 54.3 x 3.2cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1957.300.2

DescriptionFull length family portrait. Husband and wife in white painted side chairs with green ornamentation. Husband in blue jacket and grey trousers, holds three-year old on knee. Child wears peach-colored dress and coral necklace, holds peach or ball. Wife in brown dress, orange shawl, white cap, holds baby in white dress and cap with coral necklace on lap. Grandmother in rocking chair, matching side chairs but with orange drape or cushion over seat; wears black dress, white cap, holds book and spectacles in lap. Group in corner of room with rose-patterned wall paper, light blue baseboards, striped floor covering identified as "Venetian carpeting," open window with white tie-back curtains between husband and wife, grained cupboard in corner with gold painted knobs, small oval foot-stool with rose-patterned covering in front of dog, which hides behind husband’s foot.
Label TextThis work is perhaps Deborah Goldsmith's most ambitious watercolor portrait. It is prized today because it documents attire and home furnishings as well as being a delightful portrayal of five family sitters and their pet dog. The decoration on the ornamented chair backs, the figured edging on Betsy Talcott's fichu, the color and pattern of the carpet, and the graining and hardware on the cupboard in the corner of the room are among the details that testify to the artist's, concern with accuracy. Goldsmith was born in Brookfield, New York, on August 14, 1808. Two albums that she kept between 1826 and 1832 show her familiarity with the decorative idioms and pictorial cliches popular among schoolgirls and other amateurs of the period, but unlike most of her female contemporaries, Goldsmith took up itinerant portraiture and traveled about in search of commissions. Samuel Talcott and his family probably lived‚ in the vicinity of Hamilton, New York, since entries in Goldsmith's second autograph album reveal her presence there between March 7 and March 25 1832, when she signed and dated this watercolor.
InscribedOn the verso on the center bottom in ink in script is "Painted by D Goldsmith March 16th 1832/Mary Talcott age 70 Saml Talcott 38 Betsy Talcott 30 C(h?) Talcott 3 Emily 3 months."
MarkingsNo watermark found.
ProvenanceMr. and Mrs. John Law Robertson, Scranton and Montrose, Pa.; M. Knoedler & Co., New York, N.Y.