Joseph Blackburn
Portrait of Abigail Erving (Mrs. George Scott, 1733–1768)

Public Domain

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Artist Joseph BlackburnAmerican, born England, c. 1730–1774/78, active 1754–1772

CultureAmerican

Titles

Portrait of Abigail Erving (Mrs. George Scott, 1733–1768)

Date1760

PlaceBoston, Massachusetts, United States

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsCanvas: 50 × 39 3/4 in. (127 × 101 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by the Theta Charity Antiques Show

Object numberB.2016.4

Current Location

The Audrey Jones Beck Building

106 Cameron Gallery

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

PAINTING

DescriptionAbigail Erving was the daughter of a wealthy Boston merchant family. Her portrait was painted just after her marriage in 1759 to British army officer George Scott, who commanded Massachusetts troops during the French and Indian War. English-born artist Joseph Blackburn’s portrait of Abigail Erving Scott encapsulates the sophisticated style of painting he brought to the American colonies from Great Britain. Blackburn places his subject a twilight parkland. Wearing an elegant white silk gown adorned with pearls and white lace, she holds a straw hat in her right hand and carries a basket of delicate roses in the left. Striding forward as her sash flutters behind, Abigail glances briefly at the viewer with a look of calmness and confidence.
ProvenanceThe sitter; bequeathed to John Erving 5th (1855–1917); to his daughter, Sarah Erving King, 1917; Cornelia Abbot Ames (Erving descendant); [Carl Stinson Auction House, Reading, Massachusetts, December 2013, lot 228]; [Hirschl and Adler Galleries, New York]; [Copake Auction, Copake, New York, May 16, 2015, lot 27]; [Alexander Gallery, New York]; purchased by MFAH, 2016.
Exhibition History"The Hudson–Fulton Celebration Exhibition," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, September–November 1909.

"Theta Charity Antiques Show," George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, November 14–19, 2018.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Printed labels with additional inscriptions in ink on verso:

LOAN / _______ / 150.1949

( Hudson - Fulton ) / The Metropolitan Museum of Art. / Mr. John Erving ? (illegible)

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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