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Rare family grouping of three watercolor portraits by Jane A. Davis signed and dated by the artist.
Rare family grouping of three watercolor portraits by Jane A. Davis signed and dated by the artist.
Rare family grouping of three watercolor portraits by Jane A. Davis signed and dated by the artist.
Rare family grouping of three watercolor portraits by Jane A. Davis signed and dated by the artist.
Rare family grouping of three watercolor portraits by Jane A. Davis signed and dated by the artist.
Rare family grouping of three watercolor portraits by Jane A. Davis signed and dated by the artist.
Rare family grouping of three watercolor portraits by Jane A. Davis signed and dated by the artist.
Rare family grouping of three watercolor portraits by Jane A. Davis signed and dated by the artist.
Rare family grouping of three watercolor portraits by Jane A. Davis signed and dated by the artist.
Rare family grouping of three watercolor portraits by Jane A. Davis signed and dated by the artist.

Rare family group of three members of the Gaynor family, Connecticut/Rhode Island by Jane A. Davis.  The sitters are identified as Abigale Gaynor, Sarah Gaynor Bicknell, and Elsie Gaynor, grandmother/great aunt. Gouache and watercolor on paper, the two larger portraits are distinguished by richly patterned and unusually colorful carpets, while the smaller portrait is inscribed "By J.A.Davis" and “Taken Sept. 28, 1849. The portraits remain in excellent condition. Each is housed in a later, custom-made frame in the style of the period.

 

This is a particularly appealing example of Jane Anthony Davis's intimate portraiture. The group is notable for its preservation as a family grouping and for the distinctive decorative textiles of the larger portraits. The combination of the three related sitters and the signed and dated example provides an unusually cohesive presentation of Davis's work.

 

Dimensions:  Abigale and Sarah sight 9.75” x 12.75”, frame 13.5” x 16.5”; Elsie sight 6.1/4” x 7.75”, frame 9.75” x 11.25”.  Provenance: By descent in the Gaynor family; Private Collection.

 

For additional examples of Jane A. Davis’s work, see Three New England Watercolor Painters, Art Institute of Chicago, 1974; A Loving Likeness, American Folk Portraits of the Nineteenth Century, The Gallery at Bristol Myers Squibb, April-May, 1992.

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