Artwork
Ann Old Coleman (Mrs. Robert Coleman)
Ann Old Coleman (Mrs. Robert Coleman) is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist Jacob Eichholtz. It dates from 1820 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Classified as a painting, it is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.
The portrait is executed in oil on canvas, which has been transferred to a wood support, a conservation intervention that relocates the original paint layer onto a more stable panel. The work measures 92 cm in height by 71.7 cm in width. Classified as a painting, it is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it was accessioned in 1947 through the Freeman family gift.
The canvas-to-wood transfer technique was a common 19th- and early 20th-century restoration practice used to preserve deteriorating canvases, and its application here is documented in the medium description.
History & Provenance
Jacob Eichholtz executed this oil portrait in 1820, depicting Ann Old Coleman. The work was originally held by the sitter's son, Thomas Bird Coleman, in Cornwall, Pennsylvania. Upon his death, ownership passed to his daughter, Margaret Coleman Freeman, who also resided in Cornwall.
The painting subsequently descended to her daughter, Margaret Freeman Buckingham of Washington, D.C., and later to her nephew, William C. Freeman, who remained in Cornwall. In 1947, William C. Freeman donated the portrait to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it entered the permanent collection.
The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it entered the collection in 1947 as a gift from William C. Freeman. Its accession number is 1947.1.1. The work has not been recorded as included in any exhibitions in the cited sources.
Overview
Jacob Eichholtz’s portrait of Ann Old Coleman, dated around 1820, presents a seated woman in a modest white bonnet and dark dress. She rests her folded hands on her lap while seated in a red chair against a draped crimson backdrop. The work, originally executed in oil on canvas, was later transferred to a wooden support.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter, identified as Ann Old Coleman, the wife of Robert Coleman, is depicted with restrained elegance, reflecting early‑19th‑century ideals of femininity and domestic virtue. Her simple attire and composed posture convey a sense of modesty and respectability, typical of portraiture intended to affirm family status and personal character.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Portrait of a Lady (Possibly of the Buloid Family)
Portrait of a Lady
Mrs. Paul Revere (Rachel Walker)
Mrs. Robert Waterston (Hephzibah Lord)
The Artist's Mother
Catherine Brooks Hall
Mrs. William Hunt (Jane Bethune)
Portrait of a Lady
Sarah Homes Tappan (Mrs. Benjamin Tappan)
Frances Ludlum Morris (Mrs. Robert Morris) (?)