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Exhibition History“Uncommon Quilts: Treasures of the New York State Historical Association,” Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO, June 4, 1998 – July 19, 1998; Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, NY, August 29, 1997.
“Little Women, Little Men: Folk Portraits of Children from Fenimore Art Museum,” Clark Institute, Williamstown, MA, September 22, 2006 – February 4, 2007; Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA, July 2, 2005 – October 16, 2005; Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA, October 29, 2005 – December 31, 2005.
BibliographyLouis C. Jones and Agnes Halsey, New-Found Folk Art of the Young Republic (exh. cat., Cooperstown, NY, NYSHA, 1960), p. 21, no. 35, ill. 35.
Paul S. D'Ambrosio and Charlotte M. Emans, Folk Art's Many Faces: Portraits in the New York State Historical Association, (Cooperstown, NYSHA, 1987), pp.144-145, ill. p. 144 no. 86.
Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser, "American Paintings Before 1945 in the Wadsworth Atheneum", Yale University Press, New Haven, 1997, Vol. 2., pg. 681-683.
Attributed to
Joseph Whiting Stock
(1815 - 1855)
Little Child with Flower Book
Datec. 1845
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsSight: 32 1/4 × 26 1/4 in. (81.9 × 66.7 cm)
Object numberN0296.1961
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Stephen C. Clark
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextThe attribution of this portrait to Joseph Whiting Stock is based on a stylistic comparison with the documented portrait of Helen Eddy. These two likenesses display markedly similar facial features including prominent ears, large, dark eyes and dimples at the corners of the mouth. These details give many of Stock's children pleasingly innocent expressions. Also evident are the characteristic vertical floor covering, patterned in colors of reddish orange and green, as well as such decorative details as the toy horse and wagon, the doll, and the carefully rendered illustration of a lily in the child's open book. In this portrait, Stock departed from his usual method of placing children in detailed interior settings by depicting this young subject against a dark, neutral background. The resulting contrast with the child's white dress makes this a strong composition, enhanced by the large size of the canvas. No positive identification of this subject has yet been made from Stock's journal.Exhibition History“Uncommon Quilts: Treasures of the New York State Historical Association,” Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO, June 4, 1998 – July 19, 1998; Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, NY, August 29, 1997.
“Little Women, Little Men: Folk Portraits of Children from Fenimore Art Museum,” Clark Institute, Williamstown, MA, September 22, 2006 – February 4, 2007; Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA, July 2, 2005 – October 16, 2005; Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA, October 29, 2005 – December 31, 2005.
BibliographyLouis C. Jones and Agnes Halsey, New-Found Folk Art of the Young Republic (exh. cat., Cooperstown, NY, NYSHA, 1960), p. 21, no. 35, ill. 35.
Paul S. D'Ambrosio and Charlotte M. Emans, Folk Art's Many Faces: Portraits in the New York State Historical Association, (Cooperstown, NYSHA, 1987), pp.144-145, ill. p. 144 no. 86.
Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser, "American Paintings Before 1945 in the Wadsworth Atheneum", Yale University Press, New Haven, 1997, Vol. 2., pg. 681-683.
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