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Joseph H. Davis

Mary Elizabeth Furber (11 yrs.) and Martha Nelson Furber (3 yrs.), 1835

Description

Maker

Title

Mary Elizabeth Furber (11 yrs.) and Martha Nelson Furber (3 yrs.)

Year

1835

Medium

Watercolor, graphite, and ink on wove paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Dimensions

23 x 30.3 cm (9 1/8 x 11 7/8 inches)

Type

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

45.034

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Landscape and Leisure

March 13 - July 19, 2015

All appears happy and calm in this portrait of the two Furber girls, who are posed like most of the families depicted by self-taught artist Joseph H. Davis between 1832 and 1838 during his travels through Maine and New Hampshire. Facing one another on an elaborate floor, each girl is shown with objects related to her interests and pursuits: a bouquet, a basket of flowers, an embroidered purse, and a book. The eldest girl’s necklace holds a loved-one’s silhouette. Portraits like this, noting the sitters’ ages and full names, were not only family heirlooms but also records of lineage.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Mary Elizabeth Furber (11 yrs.) and Martha Nelson Furber (3 yrs.) with the accession number of 45.034. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.