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Unknown, Portrait of Marie Gabrielle Capet, late 19th/early 20th century, watercolor and gouache on ivory, sight: 2 1/16 x 1 11/16 in. (5.2 x 4.3 cm), framed: 2 3/8 x 2 in. (6 × 5.1 cm), Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc., F58-60/32
Unknown, Portrait of Marie Gabrielle Capet (verso), late 19th/early 20th century, watercolor and gouache on ivory, sight: 2 1/16 x 1 11/16 in. (5.2 x 4.3 cm), framed: 2 3/8 x 2 in. (6 × 5.1 cm), Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc., F58-60/32
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Unknown, Portrait of Marie Gabrielle Capet, late 19th/early 20th century

Artist Unknown (French)
Former Attribution Frédéric Dubois (French, active ca. 1780–1819)
Title Portrait of Marie Gabrielle Capet
Object Date late 19th/early 20th century
Medium Watercolor and gouache on ivory
Setting Brass case
Dimensions Sight: 2 1/16 x 1 11/16 in. (5.2 x 4.3 cm)
Framed: 2 3/8 x 2 in. (6 × 5.1 cm)
Inscription Inscribed on recto, left margin: “F Dubois [?]”
Inscribed on verso: “Mlle Marie / Gabrielle Capet / Artiste peintre”
Credit Line Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc., F58-60/32

doi: 10.37764/8322.5.4223

Curatorial Notes

This flat, idealized portrait of a woman was most likely created for the tourist market. The sitter’s identification as the painter Marie Gabrielle Capet, whose works were being rediscovered in the early twentieth century, was probably intended to appeal to a clientele newly interested in woman artists. We are grateful to Bernd Pappe for his insight on the attribution of this miniature during a visit to the Nelson-Atkins from July 24–26, 2023 (see Bernd Pappe, “Attribution Report,” August 6, 2023, Nelson-Atkins curatorial files).

Provenance

Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1958;

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

Exhibitions

The Starr Foundation Collection of Miniatures, The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, December 8, 1972–January 14, 1973, no cat., no. 241, as Marie Gabrielle Capet.

References

Ross E. Taggart, The Starr Collection of Miniatures in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery (Kansas City, MO: Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, 1971), no. 241, p. 79, (repro.), as Marie Gabrielle Capet.

No known related works at this time. If you have additional information on this object, please tell us more.

Unknown, Portrait of Marie Gabrielle Capet, late 19th/early 20th century, watercolor and gouache on ivory, sight: 2 1/16 x 1 11/16 in. (5.2 x 4.3 cm), framed: 2 3/8 x 2 in. (6 × 5.1 cm), Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc., F58-60/32
Unknown, Portrait of Marie Gabrielle Capet (verso), late 19th/early 20th century, watercolor and gouache on ivory, sight: 2 1/16 x 1 11/16 in. (5.2 x 4.3 cm), framed: 2 3/8 x 2 in. (6 × 5.1 cm), Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc., F58-60/32
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