Lot 21: Edwin Plummer (Massachusetts and Maine, 1802-1880)

Miniature Portrait of Miss Stevens, Andover, Massachusetts Area. Unsigned, inscribed in pencil on the reverse "Stevens, lace, purple" and an outline of the woman's profile. Watercolor and pencil on paper, the half-length profile likeness with its precise outlines has delicate drawing and includes a bright blue dress with lace offset by dark upswept hair with a tortoiseshell comb against a background of blue and orange flanked by black spandrels at the corners, 5 x 3 1/2 in. (sight), framed. Condition: Minor foxing, color loss and some pinpoints, later black and gilt frame.

Provenance: Family descent to the consignor.

Literature: American Folk Portraits: Paintings and Drawings from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, published 1981, Boston, Massachusetts, pp. 162-3 refers to Edwin Plummer's color notations and delicate trial portrait outlines on the reverse as well as his "occasional use of corner ornamentation and harsh blue and orange backgrounds" as may be seen in this portrait.

Note: The Stevens' family were mill owners who lived in Andover, Massachusetts, at the time the portrait was made.