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Oil Portrait: Lady with a Red Shawl; plus Little Boy's frame repair and Young Man with a Smile

My latest arrival is an oil on canvas oval portrait of a young lady wearing a white dress accented by a red shawl. 

She was purchased without a frame, which is a difficult thing to do as oval paintings are not so easy to find a frame that fits. 

I thought she looked so unusual with her hair parted and her slight smile that I wasn't concerned about a frame.  

I had bought a large frame from an auction in Connecticut that was housing a very heavy mirror. No one bid on it but myself.   I had no intention of paying to have the mirror and frame shipped to Alabama from Connecticut.   I bid with the idea of telling the shipping company to discard the mirror part and ship me the frame only.  I could tell that the frame was originally intended for a portrait.  So when I won, I did just that.  "Send me the frame only."

I had put the frame away in an upstairs closet.  I thought that one day I might luck up and find a portrait the right size.  

I waited for two weeks hoping that she would slip through the auction without a lot of bids against mine. For some reason, she slipped through without much notice.  I won. 

Her crimson shawl is as bright as the day she wore it in the 1850's. 

Now, do not confuse genius with luck.  When she arrived, she sat in the log room of the house leaning against a dough box for three days.  Then the thought occurred to me....how close in size was she to that Connecticut frame I had upstairs? 



Well,  the answer is in the pictures.  She fit exactly.  What is the cliche?  "Made for each other."   "A perfect match."


Remember the little boy whose frame lost three out of four gesso embellishments? 

I have managed to piece most of the parts back together.  I can create the missing leaves with Apoxie Sculpt.

With a little gold touch up he will be just fine. 

Meanwhile, in the library, my Yankee boy seems right at home in his frame from Selma, Alabama. 


All of those gold things under his portrait are the tops of girandoles, my latest obsession. 

His frame had a mirror in it also when I bought it.  Selma lost a lot of family portraits when the Yankees occupied the town in April of 1865 and burned 150 houses.  Houses that weren't burned were looted and family portraits were slashed.  So mirrors replaced the portraits.  

He really does have rosy cheeks and a slight smile.  I put a ridiculous price on him in my antique booth and when no one bought him in a week, I brought him home. Three people since then have agreed to pay my price, but I said, " Too late; you had your chance."  

Comments

  1. Hi Marshel, I had been wondering about you, hadn't heard from you in a while. Glad you are well.
    Love that oval frame! Don't forget to be on the lookout for a matching pair for me. :)
    Your new lady is dressed so fine and what luck that she fit in the frame!
    I like those girandoles too, although I do not have any at the moment. :) Looks like you have a nice collection of them.
    I did find and buy an oil portrait in a nice oval frame, but only one frame not matching. I posted about her three posts ago if you want to check her out and let me know what you think. :)
    Have a great weekend!
    Gina

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  2. Oh gosh your new lady of the house is beautiful and her red shaw also. She is the prettiest lady you have posted about that I remember
    What a story about the frame that is fit for her.
    You make me want to go looking for 1850's oil painting of ladies of the south.
    How fun about your yankee man LOL
    I knew the frame of your little guy would come out perfect.
    I don't know what a girandoles is however going to look it up right now. It will probably be something else i want LOL

    Janice a yankee girl raised in southern Illinois

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  3. OK I know what girandoles are now. I always just called them fancy elegant candlesticks like a real elegant candelabra,
    YES I want one set !! anyway and I am mad at myself for not buying one at an estate sale for $35.00 a couple years ago however I did get a staffordshire dog at this sale

    goodnight

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