Possibly William Sheldon, c. 1831

Not on View

Medium

oil on wood

Dimensions

overall: 104.4 x 78.7 cm (41 1/8 x 31 in.)

framed: 118.1 x 91.4 x 5.1 cm (46 1/2 x 36 x 2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch

Accession Number

1953.5.50

Artists / Makers

Asahel Powers (painter) American, 1813 - 1843

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Provenance

Mrs. Jerome Bonaparte Sheldon [née Caroline Grover, c. 1829-1872 or later], Unionville, Ohio.[1] Purchased in Clyde, New York, by (Downtown Gallery, New York), by whom sold in 1948 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch; gift to NGA, 1953.

[1] An inscription (no longer visible, but known through a photograph) on the reverse of the woman's companion portrait (NGA 1953.5.51) reads, Mrs. J.B Sheldon / Unionville, O. Based on this inscription, these portraits have long been thought to represent Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Sheldon of Unionville, Ohio. However, residents of J. B. Sheldon's home have discovered that these Sheldons are not the sitters, but rather were later owners of the paintings (Jim and Gerri Regan, undated letter received 14 July 1989, in NGA curatorial file). Comparison with Powers' handwriting on the reverse of his other portraits clearly indicates that another hand is responsible for this inscription.

Associated Names

Downtown Gallery
Garbisch, Edgar William, Mr. and Mrs.
Sheldon, Jerome Bonapart, Mrs.
Unknown Patron

Exhibition History

1948: The American Family, Folk Paintings 1750-1850, Downtown Gallery, New York, 1948, no. 5, as Mr. J. B. Sheldon.

1954: American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part I, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1954, no. 57, as Mr. J. B. Sheldon.

1955: American Primitive Pantings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1955.

1957: American Primitive Paintings from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Part II, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1957.

1973: Asahel Powers, Painter of Vermont Faces, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, 1973, no. 25, as Mr. J. B. Sheldon, (cat. by Nina Fletcher Little).

1980: American Folk Painters of Three Centuries, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1980, 159, color repro. (cat. edited by Jean Lipman and Thomas Armstrong).

2010: American Naive Paintings from the Garbisch Collection at the National Gallery of Art, Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia, 2010, no cat.

2019: Edith Halpert: The Downtown Gallery and the Rise of American Art, Jewish Museum, New York, New York, 2019 - 2020, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1949: Ford, Alice. Pictorial Folk Art: New England to California. New York and London, 1949: 72-73.

1970: American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 90, repro., as J. B. Sheldon.

1980: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 211, repro.

1992: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 264, repro.

1992: Chotner, Deborah, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash, and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naive Paintings. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 290-291, 294, color repro. 293.