$2,450
"Red Book Artist" (Massachusetts and New York) Silhouette of a Lady Wearing a Red Dress and Holding a Book, early 19th century, three-quarter length figure with hollow-cut head, watercolor and gouache embellishments, (minor toning), 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. , in a period molded giltwood frame. Literature: This silhouette portrait has characteristics similar to other works done by the "Red Book Artist" as listed in the exhibition catalog A Loving Likeness: American Folk Portraits of the Nineteenth Century , from The Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, New Jersey, April 4-May 17, 1992, pp. 48-49: the sitter holds a red book, the women face to the right, the figures have an overly long thumb which curls up and rests on the book, the hands are done with opaque white paint and the free hand rests on the womens' hip, silhouette is hollow cut, watercolor is used for details. Minor toning, paper slightly rippled u.r., and lower rt. and left corners.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2011-08-14
