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Joseph H. Davis

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

Maker

Joseph H. Davis (American, active 1832-1837)

Title

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

Year

1835

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

watercolor, graphite, ink

Dimensions

23 x 30.3 cm (9 1/16 x 11 15/16 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

45.034

Type

Exhibition History

Landscape and Leisure
19th-Century American Drawings from the Collection
Mar 13, 2015 – Jul 19, 2015

Label copy

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.

American Folk Art from the Permanent Collection and Pilavin Collection of 20th-Century American Art
Jul 15, 1981 – Aug 15, 1981

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Joseph H. Davis (American, active 1832-1837)
Mary Elizabeth Furber (11 yrs.) and Martha Nelson Furber (3 yrs.), 1835
Watercolor, graphite, and ink on wove paper
23 x 30.3 cm (9 1/16 x 11 15/16 inches)
Museum Works of Art Fund 45.034

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