Samuel Finley Breese Morse American, 1791-1872 Portrait of Anne Vernon Olyphant Inscribed is forwarded... Centennial/ Exhibition, ... /Fairmount Park, Philadelphia / by the New York State Centennial... Office/ 625 Broadway, New York City on a fragmentary label affixed to the stretcher Oil on canvas 30 1/8 x 25 1/4 inches Provenance: Descended in the family of the sitter to Robert M. Olyphant (by 1915) Talbot Olyphant Murray Olyphant, Englewood, NJ (nephew of the above, died July 1966) Mrs. Murray Olyphant (Mary Bartow Polhemus), New York Murray Olyphant, Jr., Minneapolis, Minnesota (son of the above) [With] Elizabeth Ives Bartholet, New York Ms. Carole Soling, Naples, FL Exhibited: Philadelphia, PA, Fairmount Park, Centennial Exhibition, 1876 Literature: Century Magazine, Sept., 1915, p. 775 (identified as Mrs. David Olyphant, and owned by R. M. Olyphant) Harry B. Wehle, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Samuel F. B. Morse, American painter; a study occasioned by an exhibition of his paintings, February 16-March 27, 1932, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 41 (citing Century Magazine) Paul Staiti, Samuel F.B. Morse, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989, p.254 (162) lists a portrait of a Mrs. David Oliphant [sic] (Ann Vernon), c.1820, as given to Morse by attribution, in a private collection. According to family records David Washington Cincinnatus Olyphant commissioned Samuel F. B. Morse to paint portraits of his parents, David and Ann Vernon Olyphant between 1823 and 1825, when he was living in New York City. Emily Schulz Parsons, Deputy Director and Curator at The Society of the Cincinnati, Washington, DC, writes "Morse reportedly painted the portrait of Ann from life, while he painted the portrait of David (who had died in 1805) from a portrait miniature done in either the 1780s or 1790s and attributed to Edward Greene Malbone ... The pair of portraits descended in the family together to [Murray Olyphant, Jr.], who owned them both in 1983 when he began discussions with the Society..." The posthumous portrait of David Olyphant is less incisive than that of his wife, his face more amorphous and clearly derived from a likeness by another artist. By comparison, the portrait of Ann Vernon Olyphant (1754-1826) is a brilliant characterization of an older lady, her face subtly modeled. The crisp white edges of her lace bonnet and collar are beautifully delineated. Illuminated by a source of light, they cast subtle shadows on Mrs. Olyphant's brow and cheeks. We are most grateful to Dr. Paul Staiti for confirming the authenticity of the present work. We extend sincere thanks to Emily Schulz Parsons, Deputy Director and Curator at The Society of the Cincinnati, Anderson House, for her very kind assistance in documenting the history of Morse's portraits of David and Ann Vernon Olyphant. C
Scattered inpaint into the background, and into the black lace bow on the top of the sitter's bonnet. The face and body do not appear to have any inpaint.
Samuel Finley Breese Morse American, 1791-1872 Portrait of Anne Vernon Olyphant Inscribed is forwarded... Centennial/ Exhibition, ... /Fairmount Park, Philadelphia / by the New York State Centennial... Office/ 625 Broadway, New York City on a fragmentary label affixed to the stretcher Oil on canvas 30 1/8 x 25 1/4 inches Provenance: Descended in the family of the sitter to Robert M. Olyphant (by 1915) Talbot Olyphant Murray Olyphant, Englewood, NJ (nephew of the above, died July 1966) Mrs. Murray Olyphant (Mary Bartow Polhemus), New York Murray Olyphant, Jr., Minneapolis, Minnesota (son of the above) [With] Elizabeth Ives Bartholet, New York Ms. Carole Soling, Naples, FL Exhibited: Philadelphia, PA, Fairmount Park, Centennial Exhibition, 1876 Literature: Century Magazine, Sept., 1915, p. 775 (identified as Mrs. David Olyphant, and owned by R. M. Olyphant) Harry B. Wehle, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Samuel F. B. Morse, American painter; a study occasioned by an exhibition of his paintings, February 16-March 27, 1932, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 41 (citing Century Magazine) Paul Staiti, Samuel F.B. Morse, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989, p.254 (162) lists a portrait of a Mrs. David Oliphant [sic] (Ann Vernon), c.1820, as given to Morse by attribution, in a private collection. According to family records David Washington Cincinnatus Olyphant commissioned Samuel F. B. Morse to paint portraits of his parents, David and Ann Vernon Olyphant between 1823 and 1825, when he was living in New York City. Emily Schulz Parsons, Deputy Director and Curator at The Society of the Cincinnati, Washington, DC, writes "Morse reportedly painted the portrait of Ann from life, while he painted the portrait of David (who had died in 1805) from a portrait miniature done in either the 1780s or 1790s and attributed to Edward Greene Malbone ... The pair of portraits descended in the family together to [Murray Olyphant, Jr.], who owned them both in 1983 when he began discussions with the Society..." The posthumous portrait of David Olyphant is less incisive than that of his wife, his face more amorphous and clearly derived from a likeness by another artist. By comparison, the portrait of Ann Vernon Olyphant (1754-1826) is a brilliant characterization of an older lady, her face subtly modeled. The crisp white edges of her lace bonnet and collar are beautifully delineated. Illuminated by a source of light, they cast subtle shadows on Mrs. Olyphant's brow and cheeks. We are most grateful to Dr. Paul Staiti for confirming the authenticity of the present work. We extend sincere thanks to Emily Schulz Parsons, Deputy Director and Curator at The Society of the Cincinnati, Anderson House, for her very kind assistance in documenting the history of Morse's portraits of David and Ann Vernon Olyphant. C
Scattered inpaint into the background, and into the black lace bow on the top of the sitter's bonnet. The face and body do not appear to have any inpaint.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
