AFA 18th Anniversary

Antiques & Fine Art 113 Child with Hoop Artist unknown, America, ca. 1850 Oil on canvas, 43 x 34⅛ in. Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (1936.100.2) Chances are the child shown here is a boy rather than a girl. During the middle years of the nineteenth century, very young boys and girls wore similar attire and hairstyles. In this case, the diagonally placed rows of skirt trim and jacket buttons evoke a military look that was generally deemed more appropriate for boys. In the background, hints of an archway and the corner of a building, which show through on the left and right, respectively, are parts of an early version of the picture, later painted out by the artist. X-ray analysis also suggests that the artist struggled with the placement of the figure, ornamentation, and costume design. Child in Yellow Dress with Grey Cat Artist unknown, America, ca. 1835 Oil on canvas, 33⅝ x 29¼ in. Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (1936.100.12) At the time Abby Aldrich Rockefeller acquired this painting in 1936, its title was Child in Yellow Dress with Grey Cat. Within a few years, however, museum paperwork documented the portrait as that of Lydia and Tabitha . This later and personalized title appears in the museum’s first comprehensive catalogue, published in 1957, suggesting that Rockefeller may have been the one to give this portrait its endearing name. The title has recently been returned to its pre-acquisition identifier, in keeping with its earlier history. 2018