Samuel Lovett Waldo
Electa Barrell Wilder (Mrs. Sampson Wilder)
,
about 1823

Technical Notes
The painting’s primary support is a plain-weave canvas with some irregular slub threads that are slightly emphasized due to past lining treatments. The painting is attached to a keyable wooden stretcher which has mortised butt-end corner joints.

The ground layer is white and was evenly applied in a thin application that does not hide the texture of the canvas. Waldo apparently began the composition by thinly painting the outline of the face and body, after which he developed the face further. The hair was first described with a thin application of brown paint. This area was left in reserve while Waldo painted the background. Overlapping paint indicates that the hair was completed after the background, although background paint slightly overlaps flesh tones on the right side of the face. The hair was mostly painted with applications of dark brown paint that were rich with medium. Highlights of opaque lighter brown paint were added to the hair last.

The green paint of the background extends slightly under the red of the dress. The shawl was initially painted in broad areas of grays and whites. The green of the border design on the shawl was then painted wet-on-dry, followed by red. Finally, yellows, oranges, and whites, which are partially blended, were painted over the dry red and green paint.

Pentimenti around the hand, the bow on the sleeve, and the back of the chair indicate that these areas were reworked. The outside contour of the ear was also reduced.

There are drying cracks with wide apertures found in the shadow areas of the dress, in the hair, in the dark green area on the right side of the shawl, and on the right sleeve. There is wrinkling in the paint layers of the face and hands.

The painting has been slightly overcleaned in some areas and much of the small, localized retouching has discolored. The weave of the canvas is emphasized in the face where paint has been abraded from the top of the canvas threads.

The painting has a moderately thick varnish layer that appears somewhat uneven, dull, and discolored.

Frame Notes
The softwood frame has a large profile. It has mitered corners with cross splines on the back. The frame molding consists of three pieces: a back piece, a second board added to develop the height of the profile, and a third one for the raised decorative outer edge. Gray bole was applied over yellow bole for most of the gilded surface. There is a combined use of oil and water gilding on the frame surface. The top and bottom back panels are finished with yellow bole; the back panels of the vertical members are gilded.

The frame has applied compo ornament. There is an inner band of tongue-and-foliate ornament. The wide scoop of the profile is decorated with a band of foliate design.