Mrs. Daniel Conover

Periodca. 1835

Place MadeNew Jersey

MediumPencil on paper

Dimensionsimage size: 3 × 2.38 in. (7.6 × 6 cm)
frame: 5.5 × 5 in. (14 × 12.7 cm)

InscribedPaper label "L. Richmond / Antiques / Freehold, New Jersey" with ink inscription "Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Conover / Middletown N.J."

Markings"53" stamped faintly in upper left corner of frame back

ClassificationsPortrait Miniatures & Silhouettes

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Lewis E. Waring, 1945

Object number2037.1

DescriptionA profile portrait of a woman in her mid-30s, facing left. Sitter wears her hair coiled atop her head, held in place by a large curved tortoiseshell comb, with a single large rolled curl above the ear. Her dress is dark in color, likely black, with very full sleeves. The sitter's wide collar is adorned with floral embroidery at the corners.
Curatorial RemarksThis portrait is one of a large group by the same artist whose last name may have been Demarest. Approximately thirty of these uniquely similar profile pencil portraits have turned up in Monmouth County and Central New Jersey. Identified sitters include members of the Conover, Schanck, Hendrickson, and Taylor families. Attempts to establish the identity of "Mr. Demarest" have so far failed. For some time, the works were attributed to Abraham Demarest, an engraver and die-sinker active in New York City from 1850 into the 1870s, but research has indicated that this Abraham Demarest was not the artist of these charming portraits. The portraits all include extensive minute details of clothing and accessories and were done with both hard and soft lead pencils. The portraits are also all mounted in virtually identical frames, indicating that the artist most likely provided the frame as part of the sitting.NotesThe portrait sitter, identified only as "Mrs. Daniel Conover" in original records, may be Sarah Ann Cooper Conover (c.1802-1838), who married Daniel G. Conover. Daniel was a popular name within the Monmouth County Conover family. The sitter's age appears to be early to mid-30s, as does that of the companion portrait of Daniel G. Conover. Daniel and Sarah Ann Conover are buried in the Baptist Church Burying Ground in Middletown, Monmouth County.

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