Eichholtz oil on canvas portrait of Catherine Trissler Eichholtz (Mrs. Jacob Eichholtz 1791-1867). Middle-aged woman faces left, wearing a dark brown dress with wide white "collar" draped over shoulders. Has a wide lace edging. Draped over right shoulder, coveriing entire dress sleeve, is a white scarf with ornately floral-embroidered edge. Wearing a large, fancy cap of gold ribbons and lace. Tie strings are ribbon. Right hand covers left hand. Dark background shows no details. Lighter 4-inch wide section runs vertically from mid-point to top of left side. Small parts of a chair peek out at left side.
Inscriptions: Various numbers on frame sides and top. Taped to lower back of foam board back cover is an encapsulated old, faded printed card with #36 followed by "MR. BLOCH(?) / MRS. CHAS. ----- / BRYN MAWR PA / MRS. JACOB (EICHHOLTZ) / CATHERINE T(RISSLER)." Stamped at top center of frame back & stretcher is "The Warwick Galleries / NW Corner 17tth & Locust Sts. / Philadelphia Pa". Handwritten in pencil along top left of stretcher is "Property of Mrs. Chas. Walker, Mermont Plaza, Bryn Mawr".
Early 20th c. frame, painted bronze. Has bold profile with wide cove and projecting bead at outside edges.
Object Name
Painting
Material
Paint, Canvas, Wood
Medium
Painting, Oil
Height (in)
30.25
Width (in)
25.125
Dimension Details
Canvas dimensions
Frame size: H: 35.5 inches x W: 30.5 inches
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2016-10-11
Condition Notes
Relined canvas has patched areas and many inpainted areas, including lips and both sides of hair. Large section along left side from center to top has been repainted.
Frame is good with several paint chips on bead section at both sides, right center and top left. Back of painting is covered with foam board.
Oil painting of Mrs. Alexander Hood seated on red chair with draped red curtain behind. Her dark brown hair is parted in the center and she is wearing a white covering with ruffles along sides covering her ears. The two wide sashes/ties hang down to her waist. A dainty lace collar piece, unattached, is around her neck with opening in front. She wears a black dress with gathers from a front vertical seam that ends in a point below her waist. Long sleeve visible on her left arm has two sections of gathers on the upper arm. Her left hand rests on her lap.
Artist: Arthur Armstrong, American portrait painter (b.1798-d.1851).
Some crackling overall. Some paint rubbed off above wooden edges. Some fine vertical streaks on woman's dress, left elbow. A small spot on right side of painting above red chair. Canvas nailed to stretcher bars in tact.
Portrait of Lydia Steele Bailey, by Jacob Eichholtz.
Married to Robert Bailey.
Bailey, Lydia Steele (1779-1869) held the position of City Printer of Philadelphia from 1830-1850 and was the first and only womna to do so. She taught herself how to set type, created over 800 prints, supported four children as a widow, and at one point in her career had over twenty male employees and apprentices.
