Artwork
Mrs. Harlow A. Pease
Mrs. Harlow A. Pease is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist Erastus Salisbury Field. It dates from 1837 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The catalogue and structured records do not provide further detail on handling, brushwork, condition, or stylistic characterization, and none is added here.
Mrs. Harlow A. Pease is an oil-on-canvas portrait painted in 1837 by Erastus Salisbury Field. The medium and support are confirmed across the catalogue and structured data records, which describe the work as oil paint on canvas. The painting falls within the portrait genre and is classified as a painting.
Measured dimensions are 89.6 cm in height by 74 cm in width, consistent with a half-length or three-quarter-length portrait format typical of Field's early portrait practice. The work is held in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having entered the collection in 1965.
The catalogue and structured records do not provide further detail on handling, brushwork, condition, or stylistic characterization, and none is added here.
History & Provenance
The portrait was commissioned to commemorate the sitter, Mrs. Harlow A. Pease, and executed by Erastus Salisbury Field in 1837.
By descent the work remained in the Pease family of Torrington, Connecticut, until it was sold in 1954 by Thomas D. Williams of Litchfield, Connecticut, to collectors Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch.
The Garbisches later gifted the painting to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 1965, where it entered the collection.
The portrait Mrs. Harlow A. Pease is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It entered the museum's holdings in 1965 as a gift from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. Prior to this donation, the work was sold in 1954 to the Garbisches by Thomas D. Williams of Litchfield, Connecticut, following its descent through the Pease family in Torrington, Connecticut. The provided sources do not contain specific accession numbers or a record of exhibitions for this artwork.
Overview
Erastus Salisbury Field painted this oil on canvas portrait around 1837. The work depicts a seated woman in a dark, modest dress with a high lace collar and a matching cap, holding a small book in her left hand. The composition is set against an unadorned dark backdrop, directing attention to the sitter’s features and attire.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter, identified as Mrs. Harlow A. Pease, is presented with a calm expression and neatly pulled‑back hair, suggesting a dignified, restrained demeanor typical of early‑19th‑century portraiture. The inclusion of a book may allude to literacy or personal piety, common virtues emphasized in domestic portraiture of the period.
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