Images(2)

Eleanor (Nelly) Conover Schenck

Artist Micah Williams

Periodca. 1827

MediumPastel on paper

Dimensions25 × 21 in. (63.5 × 53.3 cm)

ClassificationsPortraits

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1940

Object number1510

DescriptionThree-quarter portrait of a middle aged female facing left, wearing a high-waisted black gown with long sleeves full at her shoulders, double white ruffled collar, and a day cap of sheer white muslin embroidered with all over spots that is trimmed with a single ruffle brim/bavolet and tied under the chin with a black ribbon. Black ribbon also forms bows set at either side of the top of her head, with a black ribbon band across the crown of the cap. The subject is a heavy set woman with strong features, green eyes, with a hint of a dimple in her chin. She holds a leather bound book in her left hand. The background is a subdued olive green/gray, keyed to the sitter's eyes. The paper is affixed to white pine stretchers, and then lined with a newspaper sheet from the New Brunswick Times dated 14 February 1827, and a sheet from The True American dated 26 May 1827,
Curatorial RemarksEleanor Conover was conservative in her fashion choices. She wore no jewelry, and even her double ruffled lace collar was small and delicate. Her cap, of lovely spotted fine cotton, was ornamented with two black ribbon bows on either side of her head, with a black silk ribbon tied snugly under her chin. This portrait, and the companion work of her husband, may have been some of Williams’ last portraits of Monmouth County residents before he moved to New York City in about 1828. Years later, the Schencks posed for a pair of daguerreotypes.NotesEleanor (Nelly) Conover (1787 - 1873) was born to Garret Covenhoven and his second wife Antje Schenck. The family anglicized their Dutch name Kouwenhoven or Covenhoven to Conover, although other branches retained the original spellings. Eleanor Conover marred DeLafayette Schenck on 17 December 1805. The couple had at least ten children. Eleanor lived with DeLafayette for a time in Matawan, where he ran a successful tanning and currying business. In 1830, the couple moved to a large farm in Holmdel, where they remained until 1855. Later, the Schencks relocated to Keyport, where her husband had many business interests, including involvement in Keyport's development as a steamboat port.

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