Unknown, Boston
Isabella Stewart Gardner, about 1858
Salted paper print with watercolor and crayon additions, 11.43 x 11.43 cm (4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.)
This print depicts Isabella Stewart Gardner at 18 years of age. There is a golden hue to this head and shoulders portrait of Gardner, who is turned slightly to our right. She has pale skin, light eyes and eyebrows, a small nose and slightly rounded lips. Her brown hair is parted in the middle and is coiled off her face. She has on a dark satin-looking dress with a white lace collar and a large striped bow tied at her neck. This print is inscribed in pencil, on verso in the upper right: “#1.14096/ISG about 1860” and in the center with: “5”, and in the lower center with: “28509-23”.
Vatichino
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.