Rachel Jackson Portrait Miniature

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Historic Southern Summer Auction

By Case Auctions

Jul 30, 2016 - Jul 31, 2016

Set Reminder 2016-07-30 09:00:00 2016-07-31 09:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Historic Southern Summer Auction https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/case-antiques/historic-southern-summer-auction-1593
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• Lot Description
  19th century miniature portrait of Rachel Donelson Jackson (1767-1828), wife of President Andrew Jackson. Mrs. Jackson is depicted in a black dress with white sheer lace collar and bonnet with mantilla. Watercolor on ivory, housed in an oval beaded gilt metal frame (likely later) with gilt mat. Sight - 2 3/8" x 1 3/4". Framed - 3 3/4" x 3". Circa 1830. This lot is accompanied by a 1942 biographical booklet on Rachel Jackson by Nellie Treanor Stokes, published by the Ladies Hermitage Association. Rachel Jackson (1767-1828) moved with her family from Virginia to Tennessee as an adolescent (her father, John Donelson, is recognized as the co-founder of Nashville). Her first marriage ended in a divorce of controversial timing, which led to scandal during her second husband, Andrew Jackson's, presidential campaign. Jackson was elected, but Rachel died of a heart attack shortly before the inauguration. Throughout their marriage, Rachel kept a fairly low profile and spent most of her time in Nashville, running the Jacksons' home, The Hermitage. Partly as a result of that, her sudden death, and a fire at the Hermitage in 1834, very few portraits of her exist. According to the book "Andrew Jackson: A Portrait Study," by James G. Barber, only three life portraits of Rachel are known to have been painted: two oil on canvas portraits (painted in 1825 and 1827, both by Ralph E.W. Earl, both now in the collection of The Hermitage), and one miniature portrait (artist unknown). That miniature is assumed to have been destroyed in the fire. It was referred to in a Jackson letter in 1813, but in 1842, he noted he had no likeness of Rachel or himself from their early years. Only three post-mortem miniatures are mentioned in Barber's book, all based on the 1827 Earl portrait. Jackson commissoned one of them in 1830 from James B. Longacre, but Jackson angrily sent it back to Longacre when he felt it did not convey Rachel's likeness (whereabouts currently unknown). Jackson gave the second miniature portrait (circa 1830-1831), to his granddaughter, Rachel Jackson Lawrence as he lay dying (it is now in the collection of The Hermitage). That miniature is signed by Louisa Catherine Strobel, but for many years was misattributed to Anna Peale. Barber's book states that the third miniature, "now unlocated," was also misattributed to Anna Peale. In 1941, Fanny O. Walton, who acquired it from her cousin John Lawrence (son of Rachel Jackson Lawrence) offered it for sale to the Ladies Hermitage Association. But the LHHA declined to buy it, believing they already had a Peale miniature. (ref. Barber, p. 229). We believe this is that portrait. Provenance: acquired by consignor from the estate of a Jackson family member. (Higher-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com)

  Condition

  2 cracks, each running the length of the image. Frame is likely not original. Not examined out of frame.
• Shipping Info

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