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https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130301451/Eleanora-Iselin
The nearly full-length portrait shows Mrs. Iselin standing before an empty brown background. Staring sternly out at the viewer, she holds a closed fan in her left hand while her right hand reaches out to grasp the corner of an ornate Louis XVI-style table.
According to family tradition, when Sargent arrived at the Iselin home for the sitting, Mrs. Iselin entered the drawing room followed by a maid carrying an armful of ball gowns and asked him which one he wanted her to wear. To her dismay, Sargent insisted on painting her exactly as she stood without even removing her hand from the table. Some art historians have suggested that this interaction explains the sitter's somewhat severe expression. When late in life Sargent was asked if he remembered Mrs. Iselin, he diplomatically replied, "Of course! I cannot forget that dominating little finger."
More information on this painting may be found in the NGA publication American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part II, available as a free PDF. Find under Research > Publications > Systematic Catalogues.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130301451/eleanora-iselin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Georg_Iselin discusses all of the children of Adrian Iselin and Eleanora O'Donnell.
1821 |
June 30, 1821
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Baltimore, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States
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1846 |
October 14, 1846
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New York, New York, United States
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1848 |
January 12, 1848
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Manhattan, New York, New York County, New York, United States
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1849 |
August 1, 1849
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Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States
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1851 |
September 26, 1851
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Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
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1854 |
June 8, 1854
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New York City, New York, NY
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1857 |
November 8, 1857
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Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
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1861 |
1861
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New Rochelle, Westchester, New York, United States
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1897 |
November 27, 1897
Age 76
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Manhattan, New York, New York County, New York, United States
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