A Young Lady
Artist:
Samuel Lovett Waldo
(American, 1783 - 1861)
Place made:United States
Date: ca. 1835
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
36 x 28 in. (91.4 x 71.1 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Frederic G. Oppenheimer
Object number: 45.13.5
Label Text
Samuel L. Waldo's desire to become an artist induced him at age sixteen to request his father to place him with a portrait painter of Hartford. He received his first instruction in painting from Joseph Steward in 1799 and opened his own studio in Hartford, in 1803, with little financial success. He went to London with letters to the American expatriates, Benjamin West and John Singleton Copley, who introduced Waldo to the Royal Academy, the advantages of which he enjoyed for more than two years.With this background, he settled in New York where he remained a successful portraitist for more than fifty years.
In "Portrait of a Lady", one senses a flatness of space achieved through Waldo's use of value and his palette. The manner in which he represents the sensitive and provocative face and gesture of the sitter is characteristic of realism of this period in America, suggesting the larger reality of the mood and character of the sitter, rather than merely an idealized personal rendering. Waldo's use of pattern is also characteristic of American trained artists of this time.
In "Portrait of a Lady", one senses a flatness of space achieved through Waldo's use of value and his palette. The manner in which he represents the sensitive and provocative face and gesture of the sitter is characteristic of realism of this period in America, suggesting the larger reality of the mood and character of the sitter, rather than merely an idealized personal rendering. Waldo's use of pattern is also characteristic of American trained artists of this time.
Not on view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
