Josephine Terry McKinney

PeriodCirca 1800 - 1810

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions29 × 23.5 in. (73.7 × 59.7 cm)

ClassificationsPortraits

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1942

Object number1806

DescriptionThree-quarter length portrait of a female facing right, with black hair and black eyes seated in a bamboo turned Windsor armchair. With arms folded across her lap, she wears a light blue or gray Empire-waist dress with short sleeves and squared neckline, and a sheer fichu with lace edging. The subject's jewelry consists of gold earrings, gold necklace, gold brooch, a ring set with a stone and small pearls, and two bracelets. She is posed in front of an open window with a landscape scene in the distance. Red drapery with a rope and tassel forms much of the background.
Curatorial RemarksA pencil inscription on the reverse reads "Purchased from H. Gregory Gulick 22 August 1942. He bought it from Miss Mary Bucklin Phalanx N. J." H. Gregory Gulick (1907 - 1988) was a noted antiques dealer from Middletown, Monmouth County.NotesA label attached to the reverse of the painting reads "Mrs. Josephine Terry McKinney of New York mother of Josephine Terry McKinney who married Edward Giles born in England 1816 d. June 17, 1858 -- California his wife died 1858 . . ." Association accession records indicate that Mr. and Mrs. Edward Giles were stockholders in the North American Phalanx in Colts Neck, Monmouth County, and that Mrs. Giles was born in New York about 1820. This story is difficult to piece together. Edward and Josephine Giles were indeed stockholders and members of the North American Phalanx. He was born in England in 1803, and died in San Francisco in 1858. The U. S. Census Schedules for 1850 show the Giles family living in New York City, and confirm that Josephine was born in 1820. The portrait must have remained at the North American Phalanx when the Giles left that community.

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