Helen Talcott Stanley [Mrs. Philip B. Stanley]

Artist Artur L. Halmi (1886 - 1939)

Date1924

MediumPastel

Dimensions38 3/4 x 28 3/4 in.

ClassificationsDrawing

Credit LineGift of the Mrs. Philip Stanley Estate

Terms

Object number1971.32

DescriptionThe portrait of Helen Talcott Stanley, the daughter of the founder of the New Britain Museum of American Art, John Butler Talcott (1824-1905), was completed after Mrs. Stanley was introduced to the artist Artur L. Halmi through the Vose Galleries in Boston, where the Museum purchased many of its finest 19th- century paintings. Halmi was a prominent society portrait painter and was exhibited in Boston and New York City galleries. His commissions included portraits of Mrs. William Randolph Hearst and Ms. Gladys Guggenheim. When this pastel was executed, the artist also completed a portrait of Helen's son, Talcott Stanley, in a sailor suit.

Mrs. Stanley served faithfully as a member of the Art Committee for many years and thus supervised the growth of the Museum's collections and programs. Her son continued the family tradition of support, both personally and through the Alix W. Stanley Charitable Foundation. At the time of his death in 2008, Mr. Stanley was an Honorary Trustee of the Museum.

In this depiction of Mrs. Stanley, the sweeping application of the color pastels gives the portrait a soft and elegant feel. The string of pearls adds warmth, and Mrs. Stanley's blue scarf emphasizes the color of her eyes. In contrast to the billowing, subtle forms of her dress and backdrop, her face is rendered with crispness and precision in order to closely capture her arresting gaze.

On View

Not on view