Collections Database

Description:
upper torso of seated woman with dark dress, high white neck and shawl, dark hair parted at the center and swept back and up; woman; costume/uniform; portrait

Label Text:
Emily Merril Bardwell was the first wife of Jarvis Bodman Bardwell, a prominent figure in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. The couple had two sons, both of whom died in a skating accident on the Deerfield River, and two surviving daughters. After Emily's death at age thirty-four, the painting was passed down through the family and was given to the Smith College Museum of Art by Emily's great, great granddaughter. Two possible authors have been suggested for this portrait, either Joseph Chandler Goodhue (1813-1880) or Augustus Fuller (1812-1873). Both artists were itinerant painters working mostly in the Connecticut River Valley.

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=SC+1985.24

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