Artwork
Profile Portrait of a Young Lady
Profile Portrait of a Young Lady is an oil painting. It dates from 1815 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. The work is an oil painting executed on a wooden panel, depicting a woman shown in profile.
About this work
Technique & Style
Created in 1815, this profile portrait is executed in oil on a wood support.
Created in 1815, this profile portrait is executed in oil on a wood support. The work measures 30.4 cm in height and 25 cm in width. Stylistically, the piece functions as a formal portrait depicting a young lady in profile, a composition characteristic of American nineteenth-century painting traditions.
The application of oil pigment on a rigid wooden panel defines the material handling of the piece, distinguishing it from contemporary works produced on canvas or paper.
History & Provenance
Profile Portrait of a Young Lady was created in 1815. The earliest documented owner is C. M. Heffner, who is recorded in connection with the painting in 1942, when it was reproduced in Carl W. Drepperd's American Pioneer Art and Artists. By 1950 the work had been associated with Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where it was purchased that year by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch.
The Garbisches subsequently gave the painting to the National Gallery of Art in 1953, where it has remained in the collection since.
The Profile Portrait of a Young Lady is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The work was acquired by the gallery in 1953 as a gift from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who had purchased it in 1950 from C.M. Heffner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. No specific accession number is provided in the available records, though the painting entered the museum's holdings through this documented donation. The provided sources do not list any exhibition history for the work.
Overview
The work is an oil painting executed on a wooden panel, depicting a woman shown in profile. She is dressed in a black dress and a white hat adorned with a blue ribbon, and she looks toward the right. The composition is set against a dark gray circular background, emphasizing the figure’s silhouette.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait presents a solitary female figure, rendered in a restrained manner that highlights her attire and the subtle contrast between light and shadow. The simplicity of the clothing and the muted setting suggest an emphasis on personal presence rather than narrative detail.
Artist & collection
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