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)

InscribedOn verso, "Conover" in pencil on cardboard lining. "H.F.V. Co / A / Parts" also stamped faintly in the upper right corner of back frame

Markings"36" stamped faintly in upper left corner of frame verso

ClassificationsPortrait Miniatures & Silhouettes

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Lewis E. Waring, 1945

Object number2037.2

DescriptionA profile portrait of a man in his late-30s, facing right. Sitter wears his hair carefully arranged in clusters of curls in front and along the sides above the ears, with sideburns reaching his jawline. He wears a white shirt, with collar points extending above the jawline, black stock, a light-colored waistcoat, and a dark coat with wide V-notched lapels. The sitter appears to be wearing an oval pin or brooch in the center of his shirt front.
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 as "Daniel Conover" in original records, may be Daniel G. Conover (c.1797-1845), who married Sarah Ann Cooper. 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 Sarah Ann Cooper Conover. Daniel and Sarah Ann Conover are buried in the Baptist Church Burying Ground in Middletown, Monmouth County.

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