Artwork
Hannah Fisher Stedman
Hannah Fisher Stedman is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist Asahel Powers. It dates from 1833 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:on book: BIBLE; on reverse: Hannah Fisher Stedman / AE 24 1833
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting titled Hannah Fisher Stedman portrays the eponymous sitter, identified as Hannah Fisher Stedman, in a conventional 19th‑century portrait format.
The painting titled Hannah Fisher Stedman portrays the eponymous sitter, identified as Hannah Fisher Stedman, in a conventional 19th‑century portrait format. Executed in 1833 by Asahel Powers, the work is painted in oil on a wooden panel, a medium typical of early American portraiture. The portrait was created in Vermont and later entered the collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1953.
Today the work remains in the National Gallery of Art’s collection in Washington, D.C., where it is displayed as part of the institution’s early American portrait holdings.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1833, this portrait utilizes oil paint applied to a wood panel support. The work measures approximately 91.5 by 63 centimeters. As a painted portrait, the piece demonstrates the artist's application of traditional oil mediums on a rigid wooden substrate, a common practice for American folk portraiture of the early nineteenth century.
The physical composition relies on the stability of the panel rather than canvas, influencing the surface texture and handling of the pigment.
History & Provenance
The work titled Hannah Fisher Stedman is an 1833 oil portrait on wood panel painted by Asahel Powers. It depicts Hannah Fisher Stedman and was created as a portrait in the United States, though the exact commissioning details are not recorded. After its execution the painting remained in Vermont until it entered the collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who acquired it in 1947.
The couple subsequently gifted the work to the National Gallery of Art in 1953, where it has been part of the museum’s permanent holdings ever since. Technical records list its dimensions as 91.5 cm × 63 cm and confirm its classification as a portrait.
Hannah Fisher Stedman is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.. According to the painting's recorded provenance, it was originally associated with Vermont before being purchased in 1947 by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who subsequently gave it to the National Gallery of Art in 1953. No exhibition history beyond this acquisition and gift is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Asahel Powers painted Hannah Fisher Stedman in 1833, a portrait rendered in oil on a wood panel. This work exemplifies the American folk art tradition prevalent in the early 19th century, characteristic of the itinerant artists who traveled through rural communities. It captures a specific individual while reflecting broader stylistic trends of its era and region.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Asahel Lynde Powers (February 28, 1813 – 1843) was an American painter active in New England.
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