Artwork
Mrs. William Hartigan
Mrs. William Hartigan is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Carl Fredrik von Breda. It dates from 1792 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a portrait commissioned in 1792, the work functions as a visual testament to her familial status and social position within the Pollock-Hartigan lineage.
The portrait depicts Anne Elizabeth Pollock Hartigan, an American woman of the late 18th century, identified in both the painting’s metadata and provenance records as the sitter. As a portrait commissioned in 1792, the work functions as a visual testament to her familial status and social position within the Pollock-Hartigan lineage. The depiction, rendered in oil on canvas, aligns with contemporary portrait conventions that emphasized refinement and respectability, using attire and composition to convey elite identity.
Its subsequent ownership through family descendants and later collectors underscores its role as an heirloom that records and reinforces ancestral heritage.
Technique & Style
Created in 1792, Mrs. William Hartigan is an oil painting executed on a canvas support. The work measures 77 centimeters in height and 64 centimeters in width. As a portrait genre piece, it depicts Anne Elizabeth Pollock Hartigan using traditional oil paint handling characteristic of the late 18th century.
The medium consists of oil pigments applied to the fabric ground, a standard technique for portraiture of this period. The physical object remains in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having entered the Andrew W. Mellon collection in 1942. The painting’s dimensions and material composition define its formal presence as a substantial yet intimate bust- or half-length study, typical of Carl Fredrik von Breda’s portraiture.
History & Provenance
The portrait Mrs. William Hartigan was painted in 1792 by Carl Fredrik von Breda as an oil on canvas. It originally descended in the family of the sitter’s brother, Carlile Pollock, passing to his daughter and grandson, then to his grandniece Emma G. Terry Lull, who owned it at least from 1882 to 1897. The work was sold in 1896 to George H. Story, then to Ehrich Bros., and acquired in 1913 by Jesse A. Wasserman.
It changed hands again through Doll and Richards to Mrs. David P. Kimball, and in 1918 was bought by Thomas B. Clarke, whose estate later sold it in 1936 via M. Knoedler & Co. to the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, which gifted the painting to the National Gallery of Art in 1942.
Overview
Carl Fredrik von Breda's oil on canvas portrait, Mrs. William Hartigan, was completed in 1792. It depicts Anne Elizabeth Pollock Hartigan seated within an interior setting. The artist rendered her in period attire, capturing a gentle expression and an overall sense of calm.
The painting showcases meticulous attention to various elements, contributing to a personal and engaging portrayal of the sitter.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
- Portrait of Mary Anne Jolliffe
Mrs. Joseph Anthony Jr. (Henrietta Hillegas)
Portrait of a Woman
Portrait of Magdalena Węglińska
Sarah Shippen Lea (Mrs. Thomas Lea)
Porträt der Praskovya Lanskaya
Portrait of the Honorable Mrs. Beresford
Gräfin Henriette von Egloffstein (1773-1864)
Unknown in blue shawl
Portrait of Agnes Catherina Hoeuft (1689-1758)
Mrs. John Taylor
Näyttelijätär Anna Sofia Hagman