LADY IN A BLUE DRESS WITH GOLD BEADS

George Hartwell (1815-1901) lived in Boston and Bridgewater, Massachusetts and Lewiston, Maine. An ornamental painter of signs, portraits, theater scenery and church interiors, he was related by marriage to the Prior family. Like William Matthew Prior and his other in-laws, the Hamblins, Hartwell employed a "flat" style of portraiture popular in the mid-nineteenth century. Hartwell can be distinguished from Prior and the Hamblins by depicting his subjects in a 3⁄4 profile with rounded eyes, heavy outlining on the lips and noses that connect to the brow. He also painted clothing loosely with brushstrokes that suggest pleats and folds. The present lot exhibits all of these signature features. For a similar example see Christie’s, New York, 20-21 January 2005, lot 417. For further information on Hartwell see Jacquelyn Oak, “Prior and His Circle,” Artist and Visionary: William Matthew Prior Revealed (Cooperstown, 2012), p. 34-36.