GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Eleanor Nightingale poses clasping her silvery satin wrapping gown, a fashionable informal dress of the period. She gestures appropriately toward her husband, whose companion portrait would have been displayed nearby. This was painted the year she was married, commissioned to display Edward's new wife, a beautiful and voluptuous young woman. The column and green drapery in the background were invented by the artist to lend an air of importance and drama to the image. John Smibert was extremely talented at painting young women. This work is considered his most appealing London portrait of a female sitter. The inscription on the right-hand side identifies Eleanor as the daughter of Charles Ethelson Esquire and the wife of Edward Nightingale Esquire. It was probably added after her death as an act of remembrance.
Excerpt from
Gail Davitt, DMA Exhibition Label Copy (1993.75) for Faces of a New Nation: Colonial American Portraits (October 19, 1997- January 10, 1998), September 1997.
NOTES
Created in 1727
Gail Davitt, DMA Exhibition Label Copy (1993.75) for Faces of a New Nation: Colonial American Portraits (October 19, 1997- January 10, 1998), September 1997. [Fax to Eleanor Jones Harvey with these label drafts found in educaiton files, and as an undated "American Portraits" research document, Education files.]
"Smibert painted Eleanor Nightengale on the eve of his departure for the colonies. Prior to his arrival in 1728 New England colonial painters used European prints as models for their own work, copying dress styles, hair styles, and hand gestures to portray their colonial patrons. Smibert's arrival in Boston provided local painters with access to imported pigments and other artistic materials, and more importantly, to a teacher capable of improving their own work while setting a new, higher standard for portraiture. Although Eleanor Nightengale was painted in England, this portrait represents the quality and style of work Smibert continued to produce in New England."
Eleanor Jones Harvey, Object Summary 10 January 1994
Book: Richard H. Saunders, John Smibert: Colonial America's First Portrait Painter, Yale University Press: New Haven and London, 1995.
It's possible that her son went mad and murdered her and she became a ghost.--need more research
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Smibert, John (American, 1688-1751): ULAN: 500006043
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: London (England): TGN: 7011781
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1727-c. 1975: Edward Nightingale and thence by descent
Until 1993: private collection, Washington, D.C. [1]
From 1993: Dallas Museum of Art, General Acquisitions Fund and gift of Eleanor and C. Thomas May, Jr. (Pensler Galleries, Washington D.C.)
[1] On documentation provided by Pensler Galleries, Washington, D.C. it was noted that this work and its pendant portrait (1993.76) remained together since their creation in 1727.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Nightingale Coat of Arms~See the Nightingale family coat of arms in Debrett's Baronetage of England at archive.org.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1993.76
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
Eleanor Nightingale poses clasping her silvery satin wrapping gown, a fashionable informal dress of the period. She gestures appropriately toward her husband, whose companion portrait would have been displayed nearby. This was painted the year she was married, commissioned to display Edward's new wife, a beautiful and voluptuous young woman. The column and green drapery in the background were invented by the artist to lend an air of importance and drama to the image. John Smibert was extremely talented at painting young women. This work is considered his most appealing London portrait of a female sitter. The inscription on the right-hand side identifies Eleanor as the daughter of Charles Ethelson Esquire and the wife of Edward Nightingale Esquire. It was probably added after her death as an act of remembrance.
Excerpt from
Gail Davitt, DMA Exhibition Label Copy (1993.75) for Faces of a New Nation: Colonial American Portraits (October 19, 1997- January 10, 1998), September 1997.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Nightingale Coat of Arms~See the Nightingale family coat of arms in Debrett's Baronetage of England at archive.org.
Notes
Created in 1727
Gail Davitt, DMA Exhibition Label Copy (1993.75) for Faces of a New Nation: Colonial American Portraits (October 19, 1997- January 10, 1998), September 1997. [Fax to Eleanor Jones Harvey with these label drafts found in educaiton files, and as an undated "American Portraits" research document, Education files.]
"Smibert painted Eleanor Nightengale on the eve of his departure for the colonies. Prior to his arrival in 1728 New England colonial painters used European prints as models for their own work, copying dress styles, hair styles, and hand gestures to portray their colonial patrons. Smibert's arrival in Boston provided local painters with access to imported pigments and other artistic materials, and more importantly, to a teacher capable of improving their own work while setting a new, higher standard for portraiture. Although Eleanor Nightengale was painted in England, this portrait represents the quality and style of work Smibert continued to produce in New England."
Eleanor Jones Harvey, Object Summary 10 January 1994
Book: Richard H. Saunders, John Smibert: Colonial America's First Portrait Painter, Yale University Press: New Haven and London, 1995.
It's possible that her son went mad and murdered her and she became a ghost.--need more research
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Smibert, John (American, 1688-1751): ULAN: 500006043
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: London (England): TGN: 7011781
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
1727-c. 1975: Edward Nightingale and thence by descent
Until 1993: private collection, Washington, D.C. [1]
From 1993: Dallas Museum of Art, General Acquisitions Fund and gift of Eleanor and C. Thomas May, Jr. (Pensler Galleries, Washington D.C.)
[1] On documentation provided by Pensler Galleries, Washington, D.C. it was noted that this work and its pendant portrait (1993.76) remained together since their creation in 1727.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1993.76
source file
object_notes_2_c-0347.xml.nores