John Ritto Penniman
Born Milford, Mass., about 1782.
Died Baltimore, October 15, 1841.

Henry Nolen, about 1828–301
Oil on basswood panel2
19 13 /16 x 16 1/2 in. (57 x 42 cm)3
Eliza S. Paine Fund, 1982.10
Provenance
A private collection in the Philadelphia area; Frank S. Schwarz and Son, Philadelphia.4

References
Schwarz 1980, cat. no. 21.

Worcester Journal 5 (1981–82): 88.

Andrews 1982, introduction and addendum to the checklist, n.p.

Karen M. Jones, ed., "Collector’s Notes," Antiques 132: 5 (November 1982): 1095.

Zellman 1986, I, 94.

Exhibitions
John Ritto Penniman (1782–1841): An Ingenious New England Artist, Worcester Art Museum, February 26–April 25, 1982, addendum to the checklist.

Notes
1. This portrait has also been published as the work of still-life painter John F. Francis, in Schwarz 1980, cat. no. 21. It was reattributed by Penniman scholar Carol Damon Andrews.

2. Wood identification is based on a scientific analysis of the cell structure by dendrologist R. Bruce Hoadley, January 5, 2000.

3. The panel is not cut straight and consequently the height varies from 53 to 57 centimeters.

4. The Worcester Art Museum purchased Penniman’s portraits of Elizabeth and Henry Nolen from the Schwarz Gallery in 1982. According to Robert Schwarz, in a conversation with David R. Brigham, July 26, 2000, the gallery acquired the portraits from a family living in one of the mainline suburbs of Philadelphia. The paintings had not descended in the family of the previous owner, and the gallery received no further provenance information. Labels on the reverse of each panel and frame indicate that the portraits passed through the Newman Galleries in Philadelphia, but they do not appear to have owned the paintings.