This remarkable early oil on canvas American portrait of a raven-haired beauty in a bonnet. Estimated to be painted in the first half of the 19th century. The face and elaborate bonnet are done with great attention to detail surrounded by a dark background and over a generic upper body form as was the style for this type of work. Original canvas on antique stretcher. Ornate gilded composite antique frame. Condition issues will require restoration: Dark margin area upper right perforation 1 inch, right angle tear 1.75 x 3 inches. The composite frame has a wear/chip upper right corner. Canvas size: 21.5 x 16.5 inches. Framed Size: 24 x 29 inches. Folk paintings are unified by conventions of method, aesthetics, and circumstance. The artists worked principally in the Northeast, away from urban centers; most spent their careers moving from place to place courting local audiences. Quite a few were highly trained ornamental painters. Almost all of them favored strong colors, broad and direct application of paint, patterned surfaces, generalized light, skewed scale and proportion, and conspicuous modeling. Most developed compositional formulas that allowed them to work quickly, with limited materials, and in makeshift studios. Portraiture was by far the most prevalent art form among itinerant painters in the American Northeast. These artists spent their careers on the road, seeking commissions. These portraits, however, are restrained in every other respect. They are characterized by sharply defined forms, neatly organized compositions with clearly defined spatial arrangements, some with an almost mathematical precision and symmetry, generalized lighting, equal attention paid to all areas of the canvas, an absence of expressive brushwork, and an overall flatness and linearity. Elements of pride and class status are apparent but circumspect. Portraits record lasting traits and conditions (some are even memorials to the dead), rather than transitory mannerisms and situations. - https://www.metmuseum.org/

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