Painting: Barnum's Daughters, 1847, by Frederick R. Spencer
Frederick R. Spencer (created by)
1847 (Date manufactured/created)
oil on canvas, giltwood frame
67" H
X
54" W
Large oil portrait of the Barnum daughters, commissioned by P. T. Barnum in 1847. The painting, by Frederick R. Spencer, shows three of P. T. Barnum and Charity Hallett Barnum's daughters: Caroline (b. 1833), in blue; Helen (b. 1840), in pink; and Pauline (b. 1846), the toddler, in white. The couple’s third daughter, Frances (b. 1842), died shortly before her second birthday in 1844, prior to the creation of this portrait. The three sisters are depicted in an interior setting with a patterned green drape at the left, with a view to the outdoors at the right, as if a door was open. The two older girls stand on a multi-color wool rug, while the barefoot toddler stands on a red velvet sofa or settee, and is supported by her sisters. The detailed rendering of the gowns is notable, as it shows the delicate transparency of the blue gown in particular, and the fine lace bertha (neckline trim) and sleeve ruffles. Dress fabrics of semi-sheer lightweight wool, or wool and silk, were very popular at this time and the artist has represented these well. Caroline's white petticoat can be glimpsed through the blue skirt of her dress. Seven-year-old Helen's pink dress is trimmed with narrow lace or embroidered edgings suitable for a younger girl, and her dress is short, revealing her lower legs, while Caroline, aged 14, wears a full-length gown. Both gowns feature the same pleat details, and deep points at the center front waist. Caroline wears a large gold bracelet and her golden-brown hair is styled with a smooth central part and coiled braid. The longer length of her dress and her hair worn "up" indicate she was of an age when her appearance was expected to reflect young womanhood. Her fine lace collar and cuffs also reflect her status as a young woman, no longer a child. Helen's hair is worn loose and is chin length. Golden-haired Pauline wears a white cotton dress with wide neckline, typical for an infant or toddler of either sex. One might read the inclusion of a landscape view and the presence of two straw bonnets and wool shawls as an indication of the girls' fondness for the outdoors, however, this is likely more concerned with the artistic ideals of the Romantic period rather than a reflection of their personal choices. Suggesting the connection to nature was a popular convention in portraiture at the time, not necessarily delineating the sitters' own outdoor activities. The depiction of Helen holding the basket of flowers, and the cast off bonnets and shawls heighten the sense that Caroline and Helen have just come in from the outdoors, but this a narrative constructed by the artist specifically to show the girls' connection to nature, not a snapshot of their activities. (Note that F. R. Spencer does the same in his painting, Family Group, an unidentified portrait owned by the Brooklyn Museum, depicting a family with four children; the boys' hats and girl's bonnet are similarly cast off on the carpet; in addition, the view to the outdoors is through an open door, with the door visible.) At the lower left, in front of Caroline, are two books, blue and red. The artist's signature, Frederick Spencer, and date 1847 are inscribed on the cover of the red book. The painting of the Barnum girls was probably originally hung in Iranistan, the Barnum family's first Bridgeport home which began construction in 1847 and was completed in 1848. However, it is also possible it hung in the Barnum's New York City residence. Around the same time, probably in the same year, Barnum also commissioned individual portraits of himself and his wife. The Barnum Museum owns the portrait of Charity Hallett Barnum, while Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin, owns the portrait of P. T. Barnum. Barnum bequeathed the daughters painting to Caroline, and it was passed down through generations of the family before being donated to the Barnum Museum by descendants of Pauline Barnum Seeley. (Caroline's family line ended with the death of her only grandchild, Nancy Barnum Leigh, who passed when she was just 20 in 1909.) This painting is framed with decorative, curved spandrels at the upper left and right corners, although these particular ones may be replacements for the originals. Frederick R. Spencer was an American portrait painter, born in upstate New York in 1806. As such he was close in age to P. T. Barnum, who was born in 1810. He was educated at the American Academy of Fine Arts, and taught by artist John Trumbull. Spencer developed a fine reputation for his skill as a portraitist and enjoyed financial success with his career, retiring wealthy. He died in 1875.
Gift of Arleen P. Seeley
1981.005.001