Emily Lathrop Perkins
MediumPainting; oil on canvas
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width): 33 1/2 × 26in. (85.1 × 66cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of Helen Lathrop Perkins
Object number1949.3.2
DescriptionPortrait of Emily Lathrop Perkins (Mrs. George Leonard Perkins), attributed to Alvan Fisher. In the painting, Perkins is a young woman with a rosy complexion, blue eyes, and brown hair parted the middle with short ringlets over each ear and a coronet braid on the back of her head. She is wearing a fitted black dress with a high waist, and the neck is finished by a frilly double lace ruff. The sleeves are puffy on the shoulders, with the fullness being held down by narrow vertical straps, each with a jet ornament. The same trim appears on the cuff, which like the neckline is also lined with a double lace ruffle. Just below the right breast is a heavy gold chain with an elaborate gold and carnelian hanging fob ornament.
The carved chair with red upholstery on which she sits is almost hidden by the folds of a white shawl with an elaborate border of flowers and paisley. Her right hand rests on an open manuscript music book, and she sits before a rosewood spinet piano. The background is dull grayish brown.
The carved chair with red upholstery on which she sits is almost hidden by the folds of a white shawl with an elaborate border of flowers and paisley. Her right hand rests on an open manuscript music book, and she sits before a rosewood spinet piano. The background is dull grayish brown.
Status
Not on view
about 1830
about 1860
