WILLIAM IRVING

Object/Artifact

Historic Hudson Valley

Name/Title

WILLIAM IRVING

Entry/Object ID

SS.2016.6 a-b

Description

a. Canvas: oval; three-quarter length portrait of a middle-aged man facing PL; wears brown jacket, double-breasted white vest, white cravat, white shirt with high collar; balding, with curls on either side extending past ears; one lock of hair curling across forehead; holds a book in his lap; red upholstered gilt chair visible over PR shoulder; green-gray background; on reverse of canvas, remnants of label; on wooden stretcher, two paper labels, one, handwritten in pencil: "Correct grain [?]"/typed "William Irving"; on second, handwritten in ink: "William Irving [torn]/By Sully-" b. Frame: oval; gold painted (?), wide with multiple moldings; innermost, plain; second molding, roses and scrolling foliate pattern; third molding, concave; fourth molding, raised, with deeply concave outer edge; outermost molding, wire and scrolling ribbon pattern.

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Thomas Sully

Attribution

Artist

Date made

1810 - 1820

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Inscription

Transcription

(See Description)

Other Names and Numbers

Other Number

SS.2016.6

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Sight

Height

29-3/4 in

Width

24-3/4 in

Depth

1 in

Dimension Notes

Display Dimensions: 29 3/4 x 24 3/4 x 1 in. (75.6 x 62.9 x 2.5 cm)

Dimension Description

Overall

Height

38-1/2 in

Width

34-1/2 in

Depth

3-1/2 in

Dimension Notes

Display Dimensions: 38 1/2 x 34 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (97.8 x 87.6 x 8.9 cm)

Material

Oil on canvas, Wood (unknown), Plaster

Condition

Notes

Remarks: (a.) Tension in canvas loose; slight yellowing overall; uneven varnish with shiny and matte spots; possible old repair/in-filling from subject's chin to second vest button and at PR chest; small scratches over PR shoulder; (b.) 2" loss to outermost molding at 7:00 (if frame is a clock); 1-1/2" dark wear mark at 12:00; black flecking and spotting at innermost molding especially at the bottom half of the frame. Notes from conservator Felicity Campbell, 12/2/2016 Has been relined, but this is an older lining, attached with glue paste It has evidence of being restored long ago It’s held into the frame with nails; structurally, it’s not bad at all It’s a great frame There is a little flap when it’s flipped over, indicating a bit of loose tension It should have an acid-free backing (you can do this yourself) The retouching appears to be sitting “on top” and it probably was quite abraded underneath The retouching was likely done in oil paint and you can’t take it off, but it’s “cool-looking” (blue-ish) and should be integrated better than it is The surface is very dirty There is something odd in the white vest and into the line of the jacket at the PL (an old tear/scratch/repair?) There is a blue-gray cast to this, which is odd There appears to have been two previous campaigns of restoration, especially around the face Cracks were retouched, quite a lot in the face (visible under blue light) and scattered in the background There are two ways to go with treatment, the varnish has a slightly yellowish cast, but the degraded yellowish varnish sort of keeps it together. FC recommends cleaning the surface dirt but keeping the varnish and touching up certain areas to “better integrate” the colors rather than removing the varnish, which could lead to other bigger problems; the haziness might be covering other issues so start off minimal The ear is “funny” She’s concerned about the condition under the varnish, so a very minimal cleaning is recommended Note line of the lips meeting is a “bit hard” – maybe has been “strengthened” (overpainted) in the past Felicity does a swab test The matte and shiny areas are indicative of previous work and are tricky, any new varnish would start off uniformly shiny but would become uneven again over time (could be a very long time) There was a tear or gouge and some paint loss which was repaired (I thought so!) Surface clean Adjust the blue/purple retouching Apply new varnish which will make the painting overall “easier to see” Touch up color on bottom edge of frame Acid-free backing Total: $1400-2000

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

William Irving (1766-1821)

Notes

Subject

Person or Organization

Wilmer Hoffman Kingsford (1923-1979)

Notes

Former owner

Related Entries

Notes

SS.2016.7 a-b - Portrait - Related

General Notes

Note Type

Curatorial Remarks

Note

The attribution to Sully is in question, since these two do not appear in "A register of portraits painted by Thomas Sully, 1801-1871" which includes over 2,600 works. This transcript of Sully's own private register was published in 1908. The register makes no mention of William and Julia Irving, but does include "838. Irving, W. 'Partly from memory. Hints from a portrait in Harper's Weekly.' 30 x 25 1870." The annotation identifies this image as Washington Irving [Jessa J. Krick, Collections Manager, 11/15/2016].

Note Type

General Note

Note

Pair with SS.2016.7 a-b.

Note Type

StorageNote

Note

Home Location: Historic Hudson Valley, Union Church, Storage

Note Type

Department

Note

Curatorial