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Portrait of Mary Burroughs Howell Sutfin Kirkpatrick (Mrs. Jacob Kirkpatrick)(1791-1874)
No image number on slide

Portrait of Mary Burroughs Howell Sutfin Kirkpatrick (Mrs. Jacob Kirkpatrick)(1791-1874)

Date1817
Artist James Herring (1794-1867)
OriginAmerica, New Jersey
MediumOil on eastern white pine panel
DimensionsUnframed : 30 x 25 1/4in. (76.2 x 64.1cm) and Framed: 33 1/4 x 28 1/4in.
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1958.100.12
DescriptionThis is a three quarter view of Mrs. Kirkpatrick seated in a yellow bamboo turned Windsor side chair. In the background a partially drawn curtain reveals a sketchy, distant house. The subject is clothed in a black empire waisted dress with long sleeves and a voile-like stand-up ruffle collar. She rests her right elbow on the back of the chair. The right hand is quite flat and crudely shaped. Greatest attention has been devoted to the face. The lips, eyes, nose and ear have been defined with delicate brown lines. A line of shadow marks the transition from her chin to her neck. The skin is a warm tone between peach and rose. The hair, flatly and simply rendered, provides a decorative frame for her face.
Label TextBoth this portrait and a companion likeness of the subject's husband bear 1817 inscriptions, making them the earliest dated paintings known by James Herring. Mary Burroughs Howell Sutfin (1791-1874) married the Reverend Doctor Jacob Kirkpatrick (1785-1888) in 1809, and they had fourteen children. He was ordained a pastor in the Presbyterian church in 1810 and served a large district in west central New Jersey for many years. In her portrait, Mrs. Kirkpatrick is shown seated in a yellow painted chair turned to simulate the appearance of bamboo, a popular form given this seating furniture in the period.
Inscribed"1817," "By Hering," and "Mary Kirkpatrick/ Wife of Dr Kirkpatrick/A.D./1817" all appear in script on the reverse of panel.
ProvenanceJ. Stuart Halladay and Herrel 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.