Mrs. William Allen

between 1756 and 1758

John Hesselius American, 1728-1778

On View

American, Level 2, West Wing

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

Title Mrs. William Allen

Artwork Date between 1756 and 1758

Artist John Hesselius

Life Dates 1728-1778

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Unframed: 36 × 28 1/2 inches (91.4 × 72.4 cm) Framed: 42 3/8 × 34 7/8 × 2 1/4 inches (107.6 × 88.6 × 5.7 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department American Art before 1950

Credit Gift of Dexter M. Ferry, Jr.

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 27.607

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

ca. 1758-before 1764, the sitter, Mrs. William Allen before 1764-1790 or 1793, the sitter, William Allen

1790 or 1793-1831, his son, Colonel William Allen

1831-1833, his sister, Anne Armistead Allen

1833-1857, her daughter, Martha Armistead Edloe

1857-1875, her son, William Griffin Orgain, who took the name of Allen

his son, William Allen

his widow, Mrs. William Allen. 1927, dealer, Robert C. Vose (Boston, Massachusetts, USA)

1927-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Burroughs, Clyde H. "Portraits by Wallaston and Harding." Bulletin of the DIA 9, 2 (November 1927): p. 20. [attributed to Wollaston]

Heil, Walter, and Clyde H. Burroughs. Catalogue of Paintings in the Permanent Collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts of the City of Detroit.. Detroit, 1930, p. 410. [attributed to Wollaston]

Survey of Colonial and Provincial Painting. Exh. cat., The University Gallery, University of Minnesota. 1939, p. 17, no. 45 (ill.). [attributed to Wollaston]

Sellers, Charles Coleman. "Mezzotint Prototypes of Colonial Portraiture: A Survey Based on the Research of Waldron Phoenix Belknap, Jr." Art Quarterly 20 (Winter 1957): p. 432, no. 18D (pl. 22).

Belknap, Waldron Phoenix, Jr. American Colonial Painting. Cambridge, MA, 1959, p. 295, no. 18D (pl. 22).

Shaw, Nancy Rivard, et al. American Paintings in the Detroit Institute of Arts, Volume 1: Works by Artists Born Before 1816. New York, 1991, pp. 124-126, no. 53.

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