Mrs. Alexander James Dallas

Status

Not on view

Label Text

The English-born Mr. and Mrs. Alexander James Dallas were one of the more fashionable couples in Philadelphia during Washington’s administration. Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of Arabella Maria Smith Dallas is most notable for its prominently, yet privately, displayed miniature and hair-work bracelet. While portrait miniatures were frequently included in portraits of the era, Stuart has deliberately painted only the reverse of the case. In this way the miniature’s role as a personal memento of love or loss is kept private, while its public aspect as a piece of elegant jewelry, via the seed pearl and colored glass verso, is on display.

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Datec. 1800

Artist Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755 - 1828)

Subject Arabella Maria Smith Dallas (English, 1761-1837)

Geography Made - United States

Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas; gilt wood frame

DimensionsOverall (Framed): 36 in. × 31 1/4 in. × 2 in. (91.44 cm × 79.38 cm × 5.08 cm) Overall (Canvas): 28 1/2 in. × 23 1/2 in. (72.39 cm × 59.69 cm)

Credit LineGift of Ernest C. Swigert, in honor of Mrs. Clarence Morton Bishop, former Vice Regent for Oregon and former Regent, and Mrs. James Feir Crumpacker, Vice Regent for Oregon, 2003

Object numberH-4293

DescriptionHalf-length portrait of Arabella Maria Smith Dallas (Mrs. Alexander James Dallas), facing proper left and gazing out at the viewer. She is seated in a red velvet upholstered armchair (bergere) with a carved and gilded frame and brass tackings, and a red curtain is behind and to her proper left. The shade of the curtain matches the armchair, though it darkens toward brown at the upper edges of the canvas. It is drawn back at the proper left middle edge, revealing a triangle of blue-gray (perhaps sky). The sitter wears a black velvet gown with a plunging neckline and a pale gray translucent fichu. A matching shawl is wrapped over her left arm and the gown’s short sleeves are trimmed with the same fabric and a black jeweled ornament. A large pendant miniature is displayed on her chest, and a three-strand pearl bracelet with decorative hair work is worn at her right wrist. Her hands are joined with fingers interlaced, and a gold ring is visible on the right hand. Her graying brown hair is worn in curls atop her head with a black ribbon. Her eyes are brown, and she has pale skin with very pink lips and cheeks.

The simple gessoed and gilded frame has acanthus leaves at the corners.

Published ReferencesJulie Aronson and Marjorie E. Weisman, Perfect Likeness: European and American Portrait Miniatures from the Cincinnati Art Museum (New Haven: Yale, 2006), 65. (General Reference)

Carrie Rebora Barratt and Ellen G. Miles, Gilbert Stuart (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005), cats 33, 51, 65, fig. 134. (General Reference)

Lawrence Park, Gilbert Stuart: An Illustrated Descriptive List of His Works (New York: W.E. Rudge, 1926). 124, number 206.

George C. Mason, The Life and Works of Gilbert Stuart (New York: Charles Scribner, 1879), 167.

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