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Unidentified Gentleman and His Wife
Unidentified Gentleman and His Wife
Artist (1802 - 1874)

Unidentified Gentleman and His Wife

Date1852
DimensionsSight: 3 1/8 × 2 5/8 in. (7.9 × 6.7 cm)
Object numberN0068.1961a-b
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Stephen C. Clark
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextEllsworth relied upon several compositional formats. In this pair of portrait miniatures, he posed the couple facing each other in the same handmade frame separated by a thin wooden strip. They are seated on matching, fanciful chairs upholstered in brightly colored green fabric with yellow wood. Variations of these imaginative chairs, painted in orange, red, yellow or green, are found in many of Ellsworth's other miniatures, and lend rhythm and color to his compositions.

From 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. 74-75.
Exhibition History"The Paintings of James Sanford Ellsworth, Itinerant Folk Artist, 1802-1873," Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, VA, October 13, 1974 - December 1, 1974.

“Folk Art from the Collection of the New York State Historical Association,” Museum of American Folk Art, NY, January 11, 2000 – February 18, 2000.
ProvenanceFound in New London, Connecticut; Frederick Fairchild Sherman, Westport, Connecticut; Mr. and Mrs. Howard Lipman, Wilton, Connecticut; Mr. Stephen C. Clark, Sr., Cooperstown, New York
Bibliography D'Ambrosio, Paul S. and Charlotte M. Emans, "Folk Art's Many Faces: Portraits in the New York State Historical Association," Cooperstown, NY: NYSHA, 1987: 74-75, illustration number 40 on page 75.

Mitchell, Lucy B., "The paintings of James Sanford Ellsworth, Itinerant Folk Artist, 1802-1873." Williamsburg, VA: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1974: 40-41, numbers 74 and 75, and illustrations 74 and 75.
On View
Not on view
Red Hair Gentleman and His Wife
James Sanford Ellsworth
c. 1850
Cornelia Wilkinson Cotrell of Albany
James Sanford Ellsworth
c. 1850
Martha C. Parkins [Perkins?]
James Sanford Ellsworth
c. 1840
Noah Clark
James Sanford Ellsworth
c. 1840
James B. Doctor Birth and Baptismal Certificate
Henry Christian Andrew Harmon Young
1829-1839
Mr. Rufus Collins
Unidentified Artist
1830-1835
Permilia Forbes Sweet
Deborah Goldsmith
c. 1832
Separate Tables
Joseph H. Davis
c. 1835
Mrs. Olive Collins
Unidentified Artist
1830-1835
Jennie Post Of Guilford
James Sanford Ellsworth
c. 1850
Helen M. Kingman
Susan Catherine Moore Waters
1845
Unidentified Gentleman
J. Evans
c. 1833

5798 STATE HIGHWAY 80
COOPERSTOWN NY, 13326
607-547-1400

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