Augustus Fuller Miniature Portrait c1835
Directory: Fine Art: Paintings: Miniatures: Pre 1837 VR: Item # 1384702
Please refer to our stock # za475 when inquiring.
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A strongly limned portrait miniature, on natural material, done by Augustus Fuller. The subject is a young lady with dotted white organza collar and fichu, a tall tortoiseshell comb, and ruby and diamond earrings.
Fuller did sign a number of his miniatures, but apparently always on the back. Since this example is presented in its never opened original frame, it is possible that it is a signed piece. Regardless, because of the technique and composition, there is no question that this was done by him. On the backing paper of the frame (not the miniature itself) is the pencil inscription "Aunt Charlotte Bourman ... Lincoln, my mother's sister".
The sight size is 3" by 2 1/2", with a framed size of 5" by 4 1/4". The condition of the painting is excellent, with no issues. The frame has a loss at the top left, and expected crackling lines.
PROVENANCE:
The Daphne Farago Collection
Stephen Score Antiques
Sotheby's 1991 Sale, to Benefit RISD, of Items in the Farago Collection
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: 1. Augustus Fuller (1812-1873), born deaf, received instruction in drawing and painting classes when he attended the Connecticut Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, graduating in 1828. In 1833 he studied with Chester Harding. Augustus Fuller worked as an itinerant portrait painter from about 1829 to 1859 in towns along the Connecticut River Valley, New York, southern New Hampshire, and throughout Massachusetts. Fuller's miniatures are very much admired and in great demand by collectors.
2. An excellent article about Fuller by Michael and Suzanne Payne appeared in the 2017 Winter edition of the magazine "Antiques & Fine Art", and can be found at https://www.incollect.com/articles/augustus-fuller-1812-1873-triumph-over-disability-a-deaf-folk-portrait-painter-in-nineteenth-century-america
