Art in CONTEXT

With its bright, flat colors and awkward draftsmanship, this portrait falls into a category of art variously called primitive, folk or naive art. Although the identity of the artist is not known, it seems clear from the style that he never received any formal training. Indeed, for the first part of the nineteenth century, no art academies existed in the Midwest. Even in the east, aspiring artists found the only secure route to an accomplished "grand style" was to study abroad, usually in England.

Called limners, naive style painters were self taught, sometimes learning their craft as sign, coach or house painters. As each region's economy grew, so too did the demand for portraits of loved ones. Not until the sudden proliferation of daguerreotype studios at mid-century did the interest in painted portraits slacken. Until this occurred, portraitists with a wide variety of skill and training found ample work, although often limners became itinerant to support themselves as such.

While the artist is unknown (a common fate of many folk artists), the sitter has been identified as Henrietta Hollingsworth (1840-1932) by members of her family who retained ownership of the painting over several generations. Reputedly, the subject is depicted at the age of two. The daughter of a prominent pioneer family in St. Mary's, Ohio, Henrietta was something of a celebrity in her home town: toward the end of her life, she was lauded as the oldest native born citizen of St. Mary's. Her obituary also noted an achievement seldom attained today: Henrietta spent her whole life, from birth to death, in residence at the same house.

Eileen Carr

SUGGESTED READING:

Jean Lipman and Alice Winchester. The Flowering of American Folk Art, 1776-1876. New York: Viking Press, in cooperation with The Whitney Museum of American Art, 1994.

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