Memorial to Mary Fairbanks

Dateca. 1815

OriginAmerica, Rhode Island, Providence (possibly)

MediumWatercolor and ink on wove paper

DimensionsOther (Primary support): 17 5/8 × 16 1/8 in (44.77 × 40.96cm)
Framed: 19 11/16 × 18 1/2 × 1 5/8 in (50.01 × 46.99 × 4.13cm)

Credit LineGift of the Museum of Modern Art

Object number1935.304.1

DescriptionA mourning scene. At left, an alley of trees colored in soft yellows, blue-greens, browns and light blues leads back to a conical shaped building surmounted by a banner-like weather vane. Shadows are painted to the left of each tree. In the foreground are five large plants of different varieties. A large tomb in the center of the picture has a yellow and brown urn set on one side of its ledge. The rectangular lower portion of the tombstone is topped by an obelisk. To the right, a young girl leans on the tomb. She wears a pale blue dress with short sleeves, a scooped neckline, and a high waistline gathred by a blue ribbon, and she bears a darker blue cloak or shawl. In her proper left hand she holds a brown book with yellow-edged pages. At far right, a large willow tree leans out of the picture, the leaves colored in pale blues, greens, and yellows. The girl has long, stringy brown hair, and tiny hands. One hand is covered by her cloak. Her eyes are dark blue and staring. The tomb is inscribed.
The 1 3/8-inch cyma recta gilded frame with applied rope twist molding is possibly original.Label TextThe severe classic form of the monument and the style of the young mourner's dress, as well as the type of paper, indicate that this naive memorial was painted about thirty years after Mrs. Fairbanks died.
The avenue of carefully colored poplar trees at left provides visual interest while creating an illusion of depth. The unidentified artist's lack of drafting experience is amusingly evident in the ghoulish fce, the two-dimensional tree trunks, and the awkwardly foreshortened church.

Inscription(s)In ink on the lower part of the tomb is: "In Memory of Mrs/ Mary Fairbanks,/ who died May 19th AD 1786,/ in the 42d year of her Age".Mark(s)A partial watermark in the lower left side of the primary support reads: "J WHATMAN".ProvenanceFound in Providence, RI; Dorothy Dudley, Biddeford, Me.; purchased from Dudley by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.; given by Rockefeller to the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, in 1939; given by the MoMA to CWF in June 1954.