Antique Oil on Wood Panel Portrait by Jacob Eichholtz. Inscription identifies sitter as Hannah Torre Drum, born in New York, Painted in Philadelphia in 1806

Peggy McClard Antiques

Americana & Folk Art

Beautiful oil on wood panel profile portrait of young girl, attributed to sought-after Pennsylvania artist Jacob Eichholtz. This sensitive portrait depicts a young girl looking to the left. She wears a white muslin dress with a low neck, empire waist and short capped sleeves with ruffles on the end. A small gold hoop earring is set in her earlobe. Her hair is short as was popular in the first decade of the 19th century. While wearing wigs at the end of the 18th century, it was common for women and men to cut theit hair very short for comfort and "pest control". As the 19th century opened and natural hair became fashionable, hair styles were short to accommodate the hair that had not yet grown out. A period inscription on the back identifies the young girl as "[H]annah Torr Dru[m] / Born on Pearl Street / New York, Aug 8 179 _ / Painted in Philadelphia / America Feb 24 1806". While I found several Hannah Drums born during the approximate time of the year given in this inscription, I have been unable to identify her for sure. Although Eichholtz' wood panel portraits were generally on 7" x 9" rectangular wood panels with faux oval portholes painted to frame the sitter, if this wood panel was not cut by Eichholtz specifically for the customer, then the customer had it cut soon thereafter. The oxidation around the edges of the panel show that it has been this shape and size for most of its life. The panel has a modern wood cradle added to the back to stop warping (you cannot see any current warping). The original frame must have fallen apart because a very nice reproduction gilded frame is the current frame. Unfortunately, once an oval frame disintegrates, it is next to impossible to fit another period frame to the painting. The wove paper with the inscription must have been glued to the original frame because it was carefully cut into the oval shape of the wood panel. It is currently nailed onto the wood cradle. The framed size is 8" x 10". Size of the wood panel is 5 3/4" x 7 3/4".

(#4780) Price on Request

Provenance: Nathan Liverant & Son

Please see the Folk Portrait Artists page for more information about Jacob Eichholtz.

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