Inventory

Portraits of a Lady and a Gentleman 1851

John James Trumbell Arnold
(1812-1865)

Oil on Canvas
Dated 1851 lower right

24 ½"" x 29"
30 ½" x 35" framed

The portraits are attributed to Arnold on the basis of style: the shading around the eyes, the individual hairs of lashes, the arched brows, the linear, limpid hands, and the similarities of pose and format, all characteristics of Arnold's painting technique. The portrait of the gentleman has the date, 1851, in the lower right corner.

John James Trumbell Arnold worked in and around York, PA, Washington DC, and western VA from about 1841 until his death (rumored to be the result of alcoholism) shortly after the Civil War. At least 35 of his paintings have been identified, many on the basis of style, as Arnold frequently did not sign his work.

Although most portraitists of the mid 19th century, in competition with the camera, were moving toward greater realism, Arnold preferred "Folk" or "Plain" style painting, with little attempt to model the figure, to render perspectival space or to include background detail. Nevertheless, the character of the unidentified sitters comes through.

A similar pair of portraits is in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center. See Beatrix Rumford, American Folk Portraits in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, pgs. 39-40. Two portraits by Arnold are in the NY State Historical Association, "Baby in a Pink Dress" and "Lady in a White Cap". See Paul D'Ambrosio and Charlotte M Emans, Folk Art's Many Faces. Cooperstown, NY: NYSHA, 1987.

Other examples of Arnold's work are the "Portrait of a Dark-Haired Young Lady" sold at Sotheby's NY on January 17, 2004; portraits of "Silvester and Ellen H. Mattingly", sold at Christie's NY on October 21, 1995; and the "Portrait of Margaret R. Woods in Green Spectacles", offered at Sotheby's Parke-Bernett on January 27, 1983.

At a distance, the portraits appear to be large, abstracted shapes on a flat ground. However, close observation reveals that the fabric of the woman's dress is a black on black floral silk and she wears a hair brooch at her neck at an angle against her collar that enlivens to the composition.

Condition: The paintings have not been re-lined and the canvases are brown with age. The reverse of the canvas of the woman is stamped, "Superior Drilling." (Often itinerant painters used whatever support was available to them as they had few professional art supplies.) The canvas is in good condition for its age and appears stable. There is a ½" patch on the sleeve of the woman; and a 2" patch on the left sleeve and a ½" patch on the right shoulder of the man. The repairs are skillfully done and are not apparent on the painting surface. There is no apparent in-painting, other than to the patches.

The flat 3" cherry tongue-in-groove frames are either original or are sensitive 20th century replacements.

Portraits of Nathan and Freelove Drury Late 1830's

Ira Chafee Goodell
(1800-1875)

Oil on scored wood panel

Inscribed "I.C. Goodale" and dated 1831 in a 19th century hand on reverse of Freelove panel

25" x 21"; 26 ½" x 21" framed

Ira Chafee Goodell was a self-taught itinerant painter from Belchertown, MA who also painted portraits in Dana, MA and in several locations in Columbia County, NY before moving to New York City about 1834.

More than 53 portraits are signed or attributed to Goodell, more than 20 of them of prominent residents of Columbia County. See Ruth Piwonka and Roderic H. Blackburn, A Visible Heritage: Columbia County NY. A History in Art and Architecture, pg. 123 and Beatrix Rumford, American Folk Portraits in the Abby Rockefeller Folk Art Center, pgs. 110-111.

The Drury portraits reflect Goodell's emerging style of the 1830's, which exhibit more realistic modeling of the faces and more details of costume than his earlier works. Wood strips on the tops and bottoms of the panels are typical of his framing technique. See Rumford, op. cit., pg. 110.

Goodell's work is in the Newark Museum of Art (NJ); and in the Colby College Museum of Art (ME). See Colby College, Waterville, ME, American Heritage Collection, pgs. 88-90. and Colleen C. Heslip, Between the Rivers: Itinerant Painters from the CT to the Hudson.

Although inscribed 1830, a late 1830's date has been suggested on the basis of Freelove's gathered sleeve dress. (The very large shoulder and bonnet style changed 'overnight' in 1835 according to Alden O'Brien, Curator of Costume and Textiles at the Daughters of the American Revolution Musem in Washington D.C.) The inscription on the back, in which Goodell's name is misspelled, is clearly a later addition. It appears that Freelove's bonnet and her shoulders were at one time larger and more elaborate than is seen here, as there is old overpaint around the top edges of both. This suggests that the 1830 date may be essentially correct and that the portrait may have been overpainted after 1835 so that Freelove could “update” her style.

Both portraits are in very good condition, and have been recently cleaned. There are no major cracks or warping of the boards and the paint surface is intact. The wood panels have been scored to resemble a canvas texture. The paintings are presented on modern black wood frames to support the panels and prevent damage.