Portrait of Mary (Browning) Crandall
Artist
Artist unknown
Date1825
MediumOil on canvas mounted on cardboard
DimensionsOverall: 29 11/16 x 25 3/8in. (75.4 x 64.5cm)
ClassificationsPAINTINGS
Credit LineGift of Mabel G. Harkness
Terms
Object number2000.3
DescriptionBust-high female in bonnet, seated in high-crested chair; glasses in her left hand, book in her right hand.On View
Not on viewCollections
CopyrightNo known copyright restrictions.
Label TextThis authoritarian portrait of the Mohawk Valley pioneer, Mary Browning Crandall (1781-1858), descended through five generations of the sitter's family until it was donated to the museum by her great, great granddaughter. Mary Crandall's forebears came to this country from England in the 1640s. They settled in Boston and then moved to Rhode Island about a decade later.
In 1803 Mary Browning and John Crandall were married in Exeter, Rhode Island. Shortly thereafter they moved to Herkimer County, New York and purchased land in the Village of Norway. In 1813 John Crandall died, leaving Mary with seven young children and the need to earn a livelihood. An article about the Crandall family in a local newspaper, the Norway Tidings, on May 1, 1890 noted:
Mrs. Crandall was left with seven small children and the farm to care for, but she was equal to the task. She was a woman of great resolution and energy and a judicious manager. The business interests of the estate did not suffer materially from Mr. Crandall's death. She faithfully attended to out door work as well as in door.
Research is presently underway to determine who painted the portrait. Presumably, an itinerant artist working in central New York State executed it. Some of the stylistic characteristics in the work that will help in determining aurthorship include the white highlights in Mary's eyes, her thin lips and understated eyebrows. Other distinctive features are her short, unarticulated fingers, the awkward perspective of the book she is holding, the painterly highlights of her bonnet and the prominent fancy chair, or Boston-style rocker, in which she is seated.
Paul D. Schweizer
