Description:
Silhouettes were the most expedient and inexpensive form of portraiture available to New Englanders in the early 19th century. Profiles were so cheap, costing about ten cents apiece, that an artist's profit was dependent on making them as quickly as possible. Profile silhouette portrait of a man with a round head and a sharp nose, he has a white collar, and a gray coat jacket, the image is cut of out light colored paper and placed upon black silk for contrast, the whole is framed in a molded and gilded wooden frame with rope molding in the cavetto, original metal ring for hanging still exists, on the reverse is the ink inscription: "V" and "EEM" , the modern paper label with "V", and the pencil inscription "Feb 27/ William C. Banton/ Feb. 27 1830." Condition: there is a large round stain below the image and a slightly smaller stain near the lower right hand corner. needs conservation.

Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Brass; Glass; Silk

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2015.36.56

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