Possibly William Wood and Henry Stubble, after William Wood, Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1800

Chicago:

Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, “Possibly William Wood and Henry Stubble, after William Wood, Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1800,” catalogue entry in Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan, The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, vol. 3, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024), https://doi.org/10.37764/8322.5.1725.

MLA:

Marcereau DeGalan, Aimee. “Possibly William Wood and Henry Stubble, after William Wood, Portrait of a Woman, ca. 1800,” catalogue entry. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan. The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, edited by Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, vol. 3, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024. doi: 10.37764/8322.5.1725.

See the artist’s biography in volume 4.

Initially catalogued in 1944 as a miniature depicting Mary Isabella, Duchess of Rutland, and attributed to Richard Cosway (1742–1821), this object held a significant place in the museum’s early collection of portrait miniatures, predating the substantial donation from the Starr Family in 1958. However, recent scholarship and consultation with a network of experts suggest that this attribution is inaccurate.¹ Not only is it unlikely to be the work of Richard Cosway, but it also does not portray the Duchess of Rutland, who notably had brown eyes rather than the blue eyes depicted in this miniature.² While Cosway did indeed paint likenesses of the duchess, this particular work lacks the liveliness and vibrancy typically associated with Cosway’s style, indicating instead an artist familiar with Cosway’s techniques but not necessarily the master himself.³

William Wood (1769–1809) emerged as a possible alternative attribution due to his known practice of replicating miniatures by Richard Cosway and others. His signature technique, characterized by intricate networks of small dots and dashes of paint meticulously tracing the contours of his subjects’ faces and bodies, is discernible in this portrait. However, further examination reveals the presence of a second hand. Stephen Lloyd observes that the handling of the background paint differs significantly from Wood’s typical style, suggesting that this piece may be based on a lost or untraced miniature by Wood.⁴ Indeed, this hypothesis was confirmed by Bernd Pappe, who identified a miniature by William Wood of the same sitter sold at auction in 2017 (Fig. 1).⁵ Yet, the question of the second hand remains unresolved.

It appears that this portrait may have been a collaborative effort between Wood and his occasional studio assistant, Henry Stubble (1755–1806), intended as a reproduction of an earlier work by Wood. Such collaborations were not uncommon for the duo.⁶ Stubble, fourteen years older than Wood, lived near Wood’s residence and enjoyed a close relationship with Richard Cosway and his wife. Stubble also established himself as a notable artist in his own right, exhibiting works at the Royal Academy between 1785 and 1791.

Wood’s meticulous approach to his craft is illuminated by the survival of his four-volume ledger, which documents 1,211 miniatures painted between 1790 and 1808. Housed in the National Art Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, this ledger provides detailed insights into Wood’s working process, including information on the commencement and completion dates of each work as well as its dimensions, color usage, and durability; details about the sitter’s attire; and corresponding fees. Tracings of many miniatures are also attached to the ledger entries from 1794 onward, which would have facilitated the process of creating copies or making revisions—a practice that occurred frequently in response to sitter requests for alterations to hairstyles or clothing. In this case, it is plausible that either the sitter or the artist determined they wanted a copy, highlighting the intricate dynamics between artist and patron in the creation of portrait miniatures during this period.

Notes

1. I am grateful to specialists Bernd Pappe, Stephen Lloyd, Alan Derbyshire, Emma Rutherford, and Simon Francis Brown for their insights on this portrait miniature. Related correspondence and notes in NAMA curatorial files.

2. There are many likenesses of the duchess, including this example at the Victoria and Albert Museum: After Richard Cosway, Enameled Gold Box with Miniature of Maria Isabella, Duchess of Rutland, 1798–1809, enameled gold box set with pearls and a portrait miniature, 1 5/16 x 3 3/8 x 2 5/16 in. (3.4 x 8.6 x 5.8 cm), Victoria and Albert Museum, London, https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O113330/box-cosway-richard-ra.

3. Stephen Lloyd made this observation when viewing the miniature in person during a collection assessment in August 2023. Notes in NAMA curatorial files.

4. Lloyd visit, August 2023. Notes in NAMA curatorial files.

5. Pappe identified a portrait by William Wood for sale from Ellison Fine Arts, possibly in the March 11, 2017, sale. Ellison Fine Arts has since closed, but this object is still viewable at their Pinterest page, https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/446419381799591681/.

6. For another example, see Simon Brown, “A Portrait of James Fletcher (1768–1800) by William Wood (and Henry Stubble),” Simon Francis Brown (blog), April 2, 2023, https://simonfrancisbrown.com/a-portrait-of-james-fletcher-1768-1800-by-william-wood-and-henry-stubble. I am grateful to Alan Derbyshire for sharing this information with me.

Possibly with Duveen Brothers, London, by 1911 [1];

Probably Ernest Renton (1848–1921), London, by July 9, 1914;

Probably purchased from Renton by French and Company, New York, stock no. 5582, July 9, 1914–1944 [2],

Purchased from French and Company by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1944.

Notes

[1] Miniature specialist Elle Shushan remarked in 2017 that the miniature was housed in a “Duveen frame.” According to provenance specialist MacKenzie Mallon, “In stock book 18 for Duveen’s London branch, Duveen sold a large number of miniatures to ‘E. R.’ on 30 July 1911. I could not find E. R.’s full name, but I did notice one instance in which ‘Renton’ is listed as a seller of a miniature to Duveen. So clearly Duveen and Renton did business in miniatures, and it’s possible Renton acquired this mini from Duveen.” Notes in NAMA curatorial files.

[2] The French and Company stock number for this miniature is documented in the NAMA registration files. The corresponding stock sheet, however, is missing from the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, French and Company Stock Sheets, box 4, folder 3. The sheets with stock numbers immediately preceding and following the miniature’s stock number are also for miniatures, all of which were purchased from Ernest Renton on July 9, 1914. It is reasonable to expect this miniature was also acquired from Renton on the same date. Thank you to MacKenzie Mallon for this extensive research.

William Wood, Portrait of Mary Isabella, Duchess of Rutland, n.d., previously in the inventory of Ellison Fine Art, London, 2017.