Miss Liberty

DateProbably 1810-1820

MediumWatercolor and ink on wove paper with pin-pricking

DimensionsUnframed 10 1/16" x 8 1/16" (25.6 cm. x 20.5 cm.) and 12 1/4" x 10" framed.

Credit LineGift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Object number1935.301.4

DescriptionYoung maiden figure of Liberty in white empire style dress with blue (pale) sash, blue shawl over one shoulder. Short sleeves. Her dress is pinpricked. She wears low blue slippers. In her left hand she holds a flag with an eagle against a blue background on it with some stars (16 stars visible), with red and white stripes. In that hand she also holds a pole with a liberty cap on it. She has heavy shadows under her eyes, rosy cheeks and wears a straw hat fastened at her throat with a blue ribbon. She stands on a watercolor wash blue ground, with "Liberty and/Independence." "Ever Glorious/Memory" written on it in script, "United States America 1776" printed on it and "F" in lower right corner. Holds palm in her right hand. Her dress is outlined in pinpricks and has pattern of a group of three pinpricks together for pattern of dress.Label TextPatriotism has been expressed in various symbols of the American nation and in allegorical representations of the principles upon which the country was founded. These images range from Indian princesses to goddesses to figures of Columbia and Uncle Sam. This figure can be identified as a personification of Liberty based on her flag, liberty cap atop the pole, and palm branch; the inscriptions reiterate the artist's nationalistic sentiments. Of equal interest to social historians are the figure's accurate (rather than idealized) costume details, such as simple slippers, clocked stockings, and a dress delicately decorated in a pattern of pinpricks that suggest embroidery.Inscription(s)On the front in ink in script in the bottom portion of the composition to either side of the figure are "Liberty and/Independence" and "Ever Glorious/Memory." In ink or watercolor in block letters beneath the preceding is "UNITED STATES AMERICA 1776." In ink or watercolor in the lower right corner is the single letter "F".Mark(s)See "Inscriptions." ProvenanceFound in New Jersey by Edith Gregor Halpert, Downtown Gallery, New York, N.Y., and purchased from Halpert by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, by whom given to CWF.