Profile of a Woman

Dateca. 1825

MediumWoodblock printing on cut wove paper over wool felt backing

Dimensions4 3/4' x 3 3/4" (12.1 cm x 9.5 cm) unframed; Framed: 6" x 5 1/8" (15.1 cm. 13.0 cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1975.306.2

DescriptionThis cutwork silhouette of a woman is paper with head cut out and black and white wood block print of polka dot dress with long sleeves. Behind the cut-out head is a black cotton fabric. The piece is housed in a gold frame with glass without spacers. The reverse is 4-ply construction board, tape and nails.

The 1-inch molded, and gilded splayed frame is a period replacement.
Label TextBoth hollow-cut and cut-and-paste profiles were frequently given personalizing touches of freehand decoration or definition; the use of a woodblock to print such additions was relatively unusual, although it was a logical method of speeding production. The artist responsible for coupling these hollow-cut heads with woodblock-printed bodies is also known for a sample book that has a Westminster, Massachusetts, history and is illustrated both by fully cut profiles and by examples like this pair, which combine cutting with woodblock printing (n. 1).

Presumably these were duplicate images that the artist retained in order to offer clients a preview of his capabilities, but they also provided him with an accurate personal record of his work. The fully cut, bust-length profiles included among these samples are typified by scalloping of the lower edges, while those that are partially printed show that the artist offered two different stock bodies to both men and women. Both standard women's bodies have such similar outlines forming front and back that an error was perhaps inevitable; one sample shows the sitter's head on backward.

In addition to the Westminster examples, two women with bodies identical to 1975.306.2 have been recorded, one of which is inscribed with the sitter's name and "Roxbery, Vermont, 1831" (n. 2).
InscribedA partial penciled inscription on the wood backing of the frame reads "Silouttes/ Mr. & Mrs. Sow---."
MarkingsA watermark in the primary support reads "GIBSON".
ProvenanceRobert J. Riesberg, St. Paul, Minn.