Oil Portrait of a Victorian Lady

Painted in the 19th century, this exquisite miniature portrait wonderfully exemplifies realism in traditional oil painting. The small artwork is painted in the conventional portraiture style of the Old Masters, and achieves soft realism with fine brushwork and a subdued, neutral palette. The half length portrait depicts a fine Victorian woman dressed in all black with a delicate lace collar and bonnet. She wears a ruby broach at her bust and a long gold chain. Captured with great depth and sensitivity, we can assume from her mourning dress and poignant expression that the subject is a noble woman and a widow. The painting is set in a beautiful giltwood frame decorated with floral scrollwork and darkened by a light patina.

From the collection of Frances and Gary Comer.