Ellen Clark Taft
ArtistMade by
Unknown
SubjectPortrait of
Ellen Clark
(American, born 1827)
Dateabout 1860
MediumMiniature; watercolor on ivory in metal brooch
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 1 5/16 x 1 7/16in. (3.3 x 3.6cm)
Other (height x width x depth of brooch ): 1 9/16 x 1 9/16 x 5/16in. (4 x 4 x 0.7cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineBequest of Robert H. Schutz, Jr.
Object number1991.60.5
DescriptionBust-length miniature portrait of a woman with brown eyes and long curled brown hair. The woman is facing left. She is wearing a black dress, white shirt, and black and gold cross earring.
Label TextEllen Clark Taft was the wife of Mark Twain's personal physician, Cincinnatus A. Taft. According to a descendent of the Taft family, Ellen Clark Taft supposedly teased Mark Twain for his frivolous spending habits and went as far as writing a fictitious letter to him, claiming she was an impoverished widow who needed $500.00 in order to keep her home. After Twain sent her the money, she joked about what a good time she had in New York City at his expense. Ellen Clark Taft was born 16 October 1827 and died 1 February 1902 in Hartford, Connecticut.
NotesLabel Note: The story about Ellen Clark story and Mark Twain is a family reminiciance of Rober H Schutz Jr. that appeared in an article in the Hartford Courant. (Ozzone 3/8/2013)Date Note: Object file worksheet dates this miniature about 1860, the source of this is unclear (Ozzone 4/4/2013)
Status
Not on view
