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Unknown, Portrait of a Girl, late 19th century, watercolor and gouache on ivory, sight: 2 3/4 x 2 1/8 in. (7 x 5.4 cm), framed: 3 1/4 x 2 5/8 in. (8.3 x 6.7 cm), Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc., F58-60/33
Unknown, Portrait of a Girl (verso), late 19th century, watercolor and gouache on ivory, sight: 2 3/4 x 2 1/8 in. (7 x 5.4 cm), framed: 3 1/4 x 2 5/8 in. (8.3 x 6.7 cm), Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc., F58-60/33
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Unknown, Portrait of a Girl, late 19th century

Artist Unknown (French)
Former Attribution François Dumont (French, 1751–1831)
Title Portrait of a Girl
Object Date late 19th century
Medium Watercolor and gouache on ivory
Setting Ormolu frame
Dimensions Sight: 2 3/4 x 2 1/8 in. (7 x 5.4 cm)
Framed: 3 1/4 x 2 5/8 in. (8.3 x 6.7 cm)
Inscription Inscribed on recto, center right: “Dumont / 1784”
Credit Line Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc., F58-60/33

doi: 10.37764/8322.5.4222

Curatorial Notes

In contrast to François Dumont’s individualized depictions, the face of the sitter in this genre miniature appears formulaic, with minimal modeling. The composition lacks the refinement of many of Dumont’s later miniatures. As Bernd Pappe has indicated, the miniature’s composite elements, featuring a peasant girl with a fashionable hairstyle and an anachronistic style of chair, along with the technique, suggest that this is a decorative miniature dating to the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. 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

Faces from China’s Past: New Directions in Figure Paintings, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, April 6–September 8, 2019, no cat.

References

Ross E. Taggart, The Starr Collection of Miniatures (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 1971), no. 237, p. 77, (repro.), as Unknown Young Girl.

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

Unknown, Portrait of a Girl, late 19th century, watercolor and gouache on ivory, sight: 2 3/4 x 2 1/8 in. (7 x 5.4 cm), framed: 3 1/4 x 2 5/8 in. (8.3 x 6.7 cm), Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc., F58-60/33
Unknown, Portrait of a Girl (verso), late 19th century, watercolor and gouache on ivory, sight: 2 3/4 x 2 1/8 in. (7 x 5.4 cm), framed: 3 1/4 x 2 5/8 in. (8.3 x 6.7 cm), Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc., F58-60/33
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