Eleanor S. Conover

Periodca. 1854

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions39.6 × 33.5 in. (100.6 × 85.1 cm)

ClassificationsPortraits

Credit LineGift of the Heirs of Charles E. Conover, 1938

Object number1214

DescriptionPortrait of a pallid young girl seated on a red cushion with brown hair in long curls, wearing a vivid plaid dress in various shades of red, green, and purple, white lace sleeves, white lace pantaloons, white socks, and black shoes. She is depicted in an elaborate background with a large carved chair on the right in front of a floral red drapery, an architectural doorway behind to her left, and an imaginary landscape of a house, river and hills in the distance beyond a balcony railing. The girl holds a book of music in her lap.
Curatorial RemarksHarvey Jenkins excelled at depicting fabrics like the plaid pattern of little Eleanor’s dress, or the lace at her sleeves and ankles. Other details of this work include drapery in the background, an elaborate carved chair to the right, and a landscape scene in the background. Of particular interest is the book of music that Eleanor is holding in her hand as Jenkins also taught piano. The little girl’s very pale complexion certainly testifies to her poor state of health, and lends credibility to the belief that the portrait was painted posthumously. Charles E. Conover (1858-1932), whose heirs donated the work to the Association, was a younger brother of Eleanor.NotesYoung Eleanor S. Conover’s portrait was painted about 1854, the year in which she died on Christmas Eve at the age of four. She was the daughter of Lafayette Conover and Elizabeth Schanck, who lived in the Wickatunk section of Marlboro. Eleanor’s father was an important local farmer. The Conovers were prominent in Old Brick Reformed Church, where they were all eventually interred. According to family recollections, the portrait was painted from the casket, a situation not uncommon in the mid-nineteenth century.

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