Images(2)

Rebecca Crawford Conover

Artist Harvey Jenkins

Place OwnedNew Jersey, USA

Date1850-1860

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions36 × 28.5 in. (91.4 × 72.4 cm)

ClassificationsPortraits

Credit LineGift of Alan R. Baird, 2016

Object number2016.25.1

DescriptionThree-quarter length portrait of a female posed facing left but looking right, sitting in a carved wooden chair, wearing a black dress with lace attached over the shoulders, high neckline with white detached collar and white sleeves. Adorned with large silver earrings, gold broach, two hair bracelets with gold clasps, and four gold rings, one of which is set with gemstones. In its original cast plaster gold frame liner.
Curatorial RemarksThe identity of the sitter has only recently been confirmed as Rebecca Crawford Conover (1812-1897), daughter of Hendrick Conover (1773-1835) and Anne B. Crawford (1788-1832) of the Pleasant Valley section of Holmdel, Monmouth County. In the 1940s, the family believed the painting depicted Anne Bowne Conover (1833-1852), daughter of Tunis V. Conover (1802-1864) and Rebecca Crawford Conover. At the time of donation in 2016, the sitter was thought to be Rebecca Crawford Conover. MCHA owns portraits by George Henry Durrie of Tunis V. Conover, Rebecca Crawford Conover, and their son William I. Conover. Durrie portraits of their children Hendrick Conover and Anne Bowne Conover are owned privately, as is a Micah William pastel portrait of Rebecca as a young girl. Comparison of facial features in the Durrie and Jenkins portraits, the age of the sitter (mid 40s), and the amount of jewelry she is wearing confirm the identity as Rebecca C. Conover. Rebecca's jewelry speaks loudly of the family’s success in the community. Two cuff bracelets with gold clasps are possibly woven of hair. She is also wearing at least four rings, a gold brooch with a gold chain safety catch, and large gold pendant foliate earrings. The ring set with gemstones on her left hand is known as acrostic jewelry, in that the first letters of the names of the stones spell words, in this instance “REGARD.” The sequence is Ruby, Emerald, Garnet, Amethyst, Ruby, and Diamond. The ring was undoubtedly a gift from her husband Tunis. Acrostic jewelry started in the eighteenth century, but reached its height of popularity in the mid-nineteenth century. This is the kind of intimate portrait detail at which artist Harvey Jenkins excelled. NotesA strong attribution to Harvey Jenkins (1822-1908), a portrait artist who appeared in Monmouth County in 1849.

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