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Image

George Peter Alexander Healy

Portrait of Miss Sneyde

Description

Maker

George Peter Alexander Healy (American, 1813-1894)

Title

Portrait of Miss Sneyde

Year

ca. 1866

Medium

  • Oil on canvas

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Oil on canvas

Materials

oil

Supports

  • canvas

Dimensions

154.9 x 121.9 cm (61 x 48 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: G. P. A. Healy, 1867

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Jack M. Bethards

Object Number

1999.90

Type

  • Paintings

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Recent Acquisitions
Inclusive and Diverse
Feb 18, 2000 – Apr 16, 2000

Label copy

Healy was the best known American portraitist in Paris in 1867. He was a close friend of leading French painter Thomas Couture and a contributor to the fine arts sections of an unbroken succession of 19th-century Universal Expositions. His subjects included European statesmen and women of high breeding, such as Miss Sneyde, portrayed here. According to Healy's biography, Miss Sneyde's hopes of serving as a lady-in-waiting in the court of Napoleon III were dashed by the Empress Eugenie, who distrusted her husband's appreciation for fair young Englishwomen. Americans also sought out Healy when they arrived in Paris, either to commission portraits or to ask his advice about improving their own artistic skills.

Healy often returned to America, and he visited Providence and Newport in the 1840s and 1850s to paint portraits of distinguished individuals. Although there are works by his contemporaries in the Museum's collection, there were no paintings by Healy prior to this gift from his great-grandson.

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Tombstone

George Peter Alexander Healy (American, 1813-1894)
Portrait of Miss Sneyde, ca. 1866
Oil on canvas
154.9 x 121.9 cm (61 x 48 inches)
Gift of Jack M. Bethards 1999.90

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

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We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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