Artwork

Miss Denison of Stonington, Connecticut (possibly Matilda Denison)

Miss Denison of Stonington, Connecticut (possibly Matilda Denison) is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist The Denison Limner. It dates from 1790 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The earlier identification as Phebe Denison (1782–1853) has been revised, though the question of which sister is portrayed remains open.

The portrait depicts a young woman from Stonington, Connecticut, long identified as a member of the Denison family and now tentatively identified as Matilda Denison (1776–1842), based on genealogical research and the apparent age of the sitter. The earlier identification as Phebe Denison (1782–1853) has been revised, though the question of which sister is portrayed remains open.

The composition is a straightforward sitter portrait rather than an allegorical or symbolic work: the subject is presented as an individual rather than through attributes drawn from mythology, history, or emblematic tradition. The painting's meaning lies primarily in its role as a family record, documenting a young woman of the Denison household in 1790. It later descended in the sitter's family before entering the National Gallery of Art through the Garbisch bequest, preserving its function as a personal likeness rather than a narrative or emblematic image.

Technique & Style

Created in 1790, Miss Denison of Stonington, Connecticut is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 87.7 cm in height and 68.7 cm in width. As a product of the Denison Limner, the painting exhibits the formal characteristics associated with this anonymous artist's output from that period.

The piece remains in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having descended through the sitter's family before entering the museum's holdings.

History & Provenance

Executed in 1790, this oil on canvas portrait was created by the artist known as the Denison Limner. The work originated in Stonington, Connecticut, and remained within the family of the sitter for generations. While earlier traditions identified the subject as Phebe Denison, genealogical analysis suggests the sitter is likely her older sister, Matilda Denison, based on the subject's apparent age relative to the painting's date.

In the twentieth century, the portrait entered the collection of Victor Spark in New York. Spark sold the work in 1947 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. The Garbisches subsequently bequeathed the painting to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1980.

The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection by bequest from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch in 1980. Prior to that, it had been sold in 1947 by the New York dealer Victor Spark to the Garbisches. Before reaching the art market, the portrait descended in the family of the sitter in Stonington, Connecticut.

No specific inventory or accession number for the National Gallery of Art is given in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented.

Context

The portrait depicts Miss Denison of Stonington, Connecticut, likely Matilda Denison (1776-1842), sister of previously identified sitter Phebe Denison [1]. Research suggests the subject married merchant Samuel Hurlbut in 1796, establishing her within a prominent local family connected to regional maritime commerce [1]. The work entered the National Gallery of Art collection in 1980 via bequest from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who acquired it from the Stonington-originating dealer Victor Spark in 1947 [1].

Attributed to The Denison Limner, Joseph Steward, the painting exemplifies early American portraiture with its 1790 date and documented Connecticut provenance, situating it within the broader context of Federal period art production [2].

Overview

Created around 1790, this oil on canvas portrait is attributed to the anonymous regional artist known as the Denison Limner. The work presents a young woman, likely Matilda Denison of Stonington, Connecticut, rendered with a high degree of formality characteristic of late‑eighteenth‑century American portraiture.