Rebecca Stillman Burr
PainterAttributed to
Joseph Steward
(American, 1753 - 1822)
SubjectPortrait of
Rebecca Stillman Burr
(American, 1747 - 1831)
Dateabout 1792
MediumPainting; oil on canvas
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width): 35 × 28 3/4in. (88.9 × 73cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of William A. Burr
Object number1908.4.2
DescriptionThree-quarter length portrait of Rebecca Stillman Burr by Joseph Steward. Burr is depicted in middle age. She is
wearing a light satin dress, large white lace kerchief,
high white lace cap, and elbow length white gloves. She is seated and turned to the left. In the background, there is paneling, and a drape at the left.
NotesConstituent note: From object file: "This painting was formerly attributed to Ralph Earl because the matching pendant portrait of Samuel Burr is signed by Earl. For many years, it was assumed that Earl painted both portraits. However, in 1982 the paintings were examined by an Earl scholar who concluded that Mrs. Burr's portrait had been wrongly attributed to the artist. Earl always used a red ground in his oil paintings (which can be seen showing through the surface of Mr. Burr's portrait), and no red ground is visible on Mrs. Burr's portrait. Furthermore, Earl carefully highlighted the brass tacks on the chair in Mr. Burr's portrait, while the tacks on the chair of Mrs. Burr are dull and do not look like they were painted by Earl. And according to the Earl expert, the facial features of Mrs. Burr are flatter and less modeled than in other portraits painted by Earl. Based on this stylistic evidence, the portrait of Mrs. Burr has been reattributed. It is now believed to be the work of the artist Joseph Steward, who painted in Connecticut from about 1793 to 1815 and opened a portrait studio in Hartford in 1796."
Status
Not on view
Joseph Steward
Joseph Steward