Items Similar to William Jennys oil pendant portraits of Nancy Stacy and David Kimball
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 12
William JennysWilliam Jennys oil pendant portraits of Nancy Stacy and David Kimballcirca 1799
circa 1799
About the Item
The present pair of portraits would make an exceptional addition to any collection of early American art not only because they were painted by the notable William Jennys, but also because the sitters are members of notable and influential New England families. In addition, these pendants have impeccable provenance: they have never left ownership of the decedents of the Kimball family and this is the first time they have been available for purchase.
David Kimball (1766-1848) and Nancy Stacy Kimball (1774-1844) were members of historic Massachusetts families. David Kimball is a sixth-generation decedent of Richard Kimball (d. 1675) and Ursula Scott (d. 1659), who emigrated from Rattlasden, Suffolk County, England to Watertown MA around 1634. The family then relocated in 1637 to Ipswich, the city with which the family is now most strongly identified, when Richard was appointed to be a wheelwright.[1] Nancy likewise had early New England ancestry, descended from Simon Stacy and Elizabeth Clark, who were married in London in 1620.[2]
Nancy Stacy was the second wife of David Kimball, and the two were married in 1799. Given this, the present pendant portraits were likely completed shortly after the marriage. David had two children by his first wife Mary Morse, who died in September of 1798. David and Nancy would have nine additional children between 1801 and 1815.[3]
Most notably, the couple were parents of the Boston politician and showman Moses Kimball (1809-1895).[2][3] Moses would found the Boston Museum, an early for-profit museum and theater opened in 1841 that resembled European curiosity cabinets: the museum displayed paintings of Thomas Scully and Charles Peale alongside Chinese artwork, stuffed animals, dwarves and mermaids. Alongside these exhibits, visitors could attend the theater which held performances by gymnasts and contortionists, followed by performances of Shakespeare and Dickens.[4] This museum set the model for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which when founded in 1870 held a similarly diverse collection and appealed to the interests of a diverse set of visitors.[5] Moreover, some Greek antiquities from Moses Kimball's museum were eventually given to the MFA and Moses donated approximately $5,000 to the MFA's endowment upon his death.[6][7]
William Jennys (1774–1859), also known as J. William Jennys, is an important American primitive portrait painter who was active from about 1790 to 1810. He traveled throughout New England seeking commissions in rural areas and small towns.[8] Although the Inventory of American Painting lists more than one hundred works by William Jennys and an additional eighty ascribed to him, there is surprisingly little known about this prolific artist's life. He may have been the son, or perhaps the younger brother, of the portraitist Richard Jennys (active 1766-1801). Both artists worked in New Milford, Connecticut, beginning about 1795 and William's earliest known paintings were produced there. An advertisement which he placed in the Norwich (Connecticut) Packet in 1793, however, indicates that by then he was a practicing professional.[9]
In 1797 and 1798 Jennys worked in New York City. After 1800 he traveled through New England, moving up the Connecticut River Valley to paint in Hatfield and Deerfield, Massachusetts, around 1801 and thereafter visiting Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Newburyport, Massachusetts, and several towns in Vermont. He produced primarily waist-length portraits, and was known active through 1807.[9]
Paintings by Jennys can be found on view in several important collections of American art, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Honolulu Museum of Art, Connecticut Historical Society, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., the Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.[8]
These paintings are framed to museum standards in modern 22K gold leaf American Colonial style custom mouldings.
29 1/8 x 22 1/8 inches, each canvas
34 x 27 inches, each frame
[1] Morrison, Leonard Allison and Stephen Paschall Sharples. History of the Kimball Family in America, from 1634 to 1897, Volume 1. Boston, MA: Damrell & Upham, 1897, pp. 27-28.
[2] Cummings, Charles. Memoir of Moses Kimball. Boston, MA: Press of David Clapp & Son, 1902, p. 3.
[3] Morrison and Sharples, History of the Kimball Family, 363.
[4] Levitt, Peggy. Artifacts and Allegiances: How Museums Put the Nation and the World on Display. Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2015, p. 170.
[5] Belk, Russel. Collecting in a Consumer Society. New York: Routledge, 2013, No pagination.
[6] Friedland, Sobocinski and Gazda. The Oxford Handbook of Roman Sculpture. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013, p. 48.
[7] Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Twenty-Eighth Annual Report for the year 1903. Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1904, p. 16.
[8] Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, s.v. "William Jennys," (accessed 22 February 2020)
[9] "William Jennys," National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (accessed 22 February 2020)
- Creator:William Jennys (1774 - 1859, American)
- Creation Year:circa 1799
- Dimensions:Height: 34 in (86.36 cm)Width: 54 in (137.16 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:1790-1799
- Condition:These paintings underwent conservation treatment in 2015. Feel free to contact the gallery for additional condition information.
- Gallery Location:Milwaukee, WI
- Reference Number:
About the Seller
4.9
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 1966
1stDibs seller since 2017
390 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Milwaukee, WI
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- BathBy Carolyn SchlamLocated in Milwaukee, WIA signed oil painting representing the portrait of a woman in the bath. Contemporary painting. Height 40" x 28" LengthCategory
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- I WonderBy Carolyn SchlamLocated in Milwaukee, WII WONDER is one of the best studies of light in this artist’s portfolio. The figure looks out with incredible openness and wonderment.Category
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Ghost GirlBy Carolyn SchlamLocated in Milwaukee, WIA signed oil painting representing the portrait of a ghostly woman. Contemporary painting. Height 22" x 15" LengthCategory
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- JustineBy Carolyn SchlamLocated in Milwaukee, WIA signed oil painting representing the portrait of a woman. Contemporary painting. Height 20" x 24" LengthCategory
2010s Contemporary Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- "Princess Diana, " an Oil Canvas signed by Alayna RoseBy Alayna RoseLocated in Milwaukee, WI"Princess Diana" is an original oil painting created by Alayna Rose. This piece was created shortly after the death of Princess Diana in 1997. The painting effectively captures the distance and sadness surrounding the event. Alayna Rose did not set out to make a tribute painting...Category
1990s Expressionist Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- "Bright Eyes, " an Oil on a Canvas Board signed by Pauline PalmerBy Pauline PalmerLocated in Milwaukee, WI"Bright Eyes" is an original oil paint on canvas mounted on board by Pauline Palmer. It depicts a young child in blue with wide eyes smiling in front of a ...Category
1930s American Impressionist Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil, Board
You May Also Like
- Portrait of a young womanBy Alexandre CabanelLocated in Brooklyn, NYAlexandre Cabanel (1823–1889) was a prominent French academic painter known for his mastery of Neoclassical and Academic art. Born on September 28, 1823, in Montpellier, France, Caba...Category
Mid-19th Century Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Portrait Of Horatio Nelson Attributed To Lemuel AbbottLocated in New Orleans, LAAttributed to Lemuel Abbott 1760-1803 | English Portrait of Horatio Nelson Oil on canvas This previously unknown portrait is an important discovery in British Naval history. In Admiral Lord Nelson's illustrious and well-studied life, there existed a "silent period" spanning 16 years during which no known portraits of Nelson existed. The discovery of this 1790 portrait, rendered just before his reentry into the Navy, is a significant development for Nelson scholars, adding new insight into the leader's life prior to his legendary command as Admiral of the British Navy. Almost certainly painted by Lemuel Abbott, the official portraitist of Admiral Nelson, the rendering depicts the naval titan in casual dress. This is one of the two final depictions of Nelson before he acquired the war-inflicted injuries that marked his later years. In 1790, Britain was at peace, and Lord Nelson found himself residing in Burnham Thorpe with his newlywed wife, Frances. Having served with great distinction in South America and the West Indies, he garnered much local acclaim. Yet, the uncertainty of returning to the sea weighed heavily on his mind. At the age of thirty, he lived the life of a country gentleman managing his estate. Only one other much smaller portrait of Nelson in civilian attire exists, a much smaller rendering from 1800 currently held at the National Portrait Gallery. Compelling and atmospheric, the oil on canvas offers viewers a rare glimpse into the visage of a youthful and resolute Nelson, a man driven by an unwavering desire to forge his reputation in the art of naval warfare. This portrait had long been believed by the Nelson family to portray Edmund Nelson, Horatio Nelson's father. When connoisseur Jeremy Knight acquired this treasure directly from the Nelson family, he postulated that the work actually depicted the famed Admiral and not his father, as it was painted around 1790, and the elder Edmund Nelson would have been 68 years old at that time. Knight then hired the renowned Nelson scholar Martin Downer, the former Sotheby's expert and author of the bestselling books Nelson's Purse and Nelson's Lost Jewel, to confirm his hunch. It has now been confirmed by Martin Downer that this portrait is the missing...Category
18th Century Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- SolitudeBy Guillaume SeignacLocated in New Orleans, LAFrench Academic painter Guillaume Seignac was renowned for his masterful treatment of the idealized nude. His languishing female subjects based on Greco-Roman prototypes were and rem...Category
19th Century Academic Nude Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- SolitudeBy Guillaume SeignacLocated in New Orleans, LASigned “G-Seignac” (lower right) Oil on canvas French Academic painter Guillaume Seignac was renowned for his masterful treatment of the idealized nude. His languishing female subje...Category
19th Century Academic Nude Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- A Pompeian LadyBy John William GodwardLocated in New Orleans, LAJohn William Godward 1861-1922 British A Pompeian Lady Signed and dated "J.W. Godward 1904" (lower right, partially covered by frame) Oil on canvas One of the last and greatest Victorian neoclassical painters, John William Godward is celebrated for his flawlessly executed images of graceful women posed in idealized ancient settings. In this work, entitled A Pompeian Lady, a classical beauty is caught idling in a moment of quiet, solitary reflection. Godward's elegant subjects are depicted with a degree of technical mastery that remains unsurpassed, and the work's dramatic palette, luxurious fabrics and classical vision are all characteristics of his unique take on the neoclassical style. Godward was unmatched in terms of his technical skill and attention to detail. A master of contrasting textures, he paints a diaphanous gown draping against the model’s smooth, milky white skin, which sits against the painstakingly rendered individual hairs of a tiger’s pel. Scintillating color permeates the canvas as well, energizing the otherwise static scene. Each element is given careful attention, and the overall effect is one of both immaculate technique and sensual tactility. Along with his contemporary and mentor, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Godward set the tone for the Victorian neoclassicist movement. He built his career upon creating images of idealized feminine beauty infused with a Greco-Roman-inspired style. Though greatly influenced by Alma-Tadema, Godward distinguished himself through his predilection for the solitary female figure. His fame rose dramatically in the first few years of the 20th century, when the present work was completed, due to the burgeoning strength of the British Empire and the Victorian society’s preoccupation with ancient Rome. To many of the newly affluent, Roman society was, as Iain Gale writes, “a flawless mirror of their own immaculate world.” The sensuality and mystery of Godward’s maidens, combined with his impressive antique backdrops...Category
Early 20th Century Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Untitled Portrait II (Modern, Academic Style Portrait Painting of a Young Man)By Mark BeardLocated in Hudson, NYModern, academic style portrait painting on canvas of a young athletic male oil on canvas, 26 x 17 inches in antique wood frame This vertical, contemporary portrait painting of sin...Category
2010s Academic Portrait Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Pair Portraits
Pair Of Portraits
William Gold
New England Portraits
William J
William David
Pair Of Portraits Framed
Chinese Portrait Artists
Historical Oil Paintings Portraits
David P
Set Of 4 Modern Paintings
Greek Antiquity
Pair Of Portraits England
Set Of 3 Oil Paintings
Antique Painting Art Collectibles
Chinese Modern Portrait
Pair American Portraits
Pair Of American Portraits