{"object":[{"sourceId":{"label":"Source ID","value":"2584"},"copyright":{"label":"Copyright","value":"The American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain."},"creditline":{"label":"Credit Line","value":"Gift of Ralph Esmerian"},"endDate":{"label":"End Date","value":"1837"},"sortNumber":{"label":"Sort Number","value":"1998    17    1"},"invno":{"label":"Accession number","value":"1998.17.1"},"description":{"label":"Description","value":"Woman in a chair with glasses and cat"},"medium":{"label":"Medium","value":"Watercolor, ink, pencil on paper"},"geographyPlaceregion":{"label":"Place/Region","value":""},"media":{"label":"Media","value":{"mediaURL":"https://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/3174/full","mediaDepartment":"Object Photographs","mediaType":"Image","mediaId":"3174"}},"title":{"label":"Title","value":"Betsey Dowst"},"geographyCity":{"value":""},"textEntriesWebsitedisplaytext":{"value":"Between 1832 and 1837, itinerant artist Joseph H. Davis brought members of Maine and New Hampshire\u2019s middle class to life in more than 150 engaging watercolor portraits. These decorous men, women, and children are rendered individually, in pairs, or in family groups, with the faces always in profile and bodies slightly turned. When depicted singly, they face the viewer\u2019s right; when paired, they face each other. The hands and feet of all the sitters are unusually small. Customized decorative details \u2013 a newspaper, Bible, painting, clock, vase of flowers, pet dog or cat \u2013reveal something of the subject\u2019s interests. Grain-painted furniture and exceptionally vivid floor coverings characteristic of the period enhance the settings. Decorative calligraphic inscriptions below the portraits identify the sitters by name and age. In this portrait, Betsey Dowst, age sixty-nine on August 27, 1837, sits in her black-painted rocking chair with gold stenciling and wears a white ruffled cap held to her head by black straps tied in a bow under her chin. A faint pencil outline is discernible, especially in the facial features. A beautifully bound and ruche-edged shawl covers the shoulders of her loosely pleated, leg-of-mutton-sleeved black silk dress. The handwork on her lap and the eyeglasses perched on her head suggest that she stopped her knitting or crocheting for a few moments to pose for the artist. She may have been related to either Henry Dowst or Isaac Dowst of New Hampshire\u2019s Merrimack County, both of whose names appear in the 1840 United States census. There exists another, nearly identical, picture of Betsey Dowst \u2013 inscribed with the same personal data, including the same date. While the pose is quite similar, there are several variations in the details of the chair and floor covering, and the placement of the ball of yarn, eyeglasses, and cat in each picture is different.Lee Kogan, \"Betsey Dowst,\" in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 328.Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.　To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org"},"collections":{"label":"Collections","value":"Works on Paper"},"geography":{"label":"Geography","value":""},"id":{"label":"Id","value":"153984"},"geographyState":{"value":"New Hampshire"},"geographyCountry":{"value":"United States"},"onview":{"label":"On View","value":"0"},"people":{"label":"Artist / Maker","value":{"displayOrder":"1","personRole":"Artist","personID":"632","content":"Joseph H. Davis"}},"classifications":{"label":"Classification(s)","value":"Drawings"},"textEntries":{"label":"Text Entries","value":"Between 1832 and 1837, itinerant artist Joseph H. Davis brought members of Maine and New Hampshire\u2019s middle class to life in more than 150 engaging watercolor portraits. These decorous men, women, and children are rendered individually, in pairs, or in family groups, with the faces always in profile and bodies slightly turned. When depicted singly, they face the viewer\u2019s right; when paired, they face each other. The hands and feet of all the sitters are unusually small. Customized decorative details \u2013 a newspaper, Bible, painting, clock, vase of flowers, pet dog or cat \u2013reveal something of the subject\u2019s interests. Grain-painted furniture and exceptionally vivid floor coverings characteristic of the period enhance the settings. Decorative calligraphic inscriptions below the portraits identify the sitters by name and age. In this portrait, Betsey Dowst, age sixty-nine on August 27, 1837, sits in her black-painted rocking chair with gold stenciling and wears a white ruffled cap held to her head by black straps tied in a bow under her chin. A faint pencil outline is discernible, especially in the facial features. A beautifully bound and ruche-edged shawl covers the shoulders of her loosely pleated, leg-of-mutton-sleeved black silk dress. The handwork on her lap and the eyeglasses perched on her head suggest that she stopped her knitting or crocheting for a few moments to pose for the artist. She may have been related to either Henry Dowst or Isaac Dowst of New Hampshire\u2019s Merrimack County, both of whose names appear in the 1840 United States census. There exists another, nearly identical, picture of Betsey Dowst \u2013 inscribed with the same personal data, including the same date. While the pose is quite similar, there are several variations in the details of the chair and floor covering, and the placement of the ball of yarn, eyeglasses, and cat in each picture is different.Lee Kogan, \"Betsey Dowst,\" in Stacy C. Hollander, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 328.Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.　To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.org"},"beginDate":{"label":"Begin Date","value":"1837"},"displayDate":{"label":"Date","value":"1837"},"exhibitions":{"label":"Exhibitions","value":[{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Friday, January 21, 2022 - Monday, September 5, 2022","exhibitionEndISODate":"2022-09-05","exhibitionID":"251","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2022-01-21","exhibitionBeginDate":"2022","exhibitionTitle":"MULTITUDES","exhibitionEndDate":"2022"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Saturday, July 2, 2016 - Monday, September 19, 2016","exhibitionEndISODate":"2016-09-19","exhibitionID":"159","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2016-07-02","exhibitionBeginDate":"2016","exhibitionTitle":"AMERICAN MADE","exhibitionEndDate":"2016"},{"exhibitionDisplayDate":"Thursday, July 11, 2002 - Sunday, January 5, 2003","exhibitionEndISODate":"2003-01-26","exhibitionID":"73","exhibitionISOBeginDate":"2002-07-11","exhibitionBeginDate":"2002","exhibitionTitle":"American Anthem","exhibitionEndDate":"2003"}]},"dimensions":{"label":"Dimensions","value":"Sheet: 14 1/8 x 12 \" (35.9 x 30.5 cm)Frame: 14 1/8 x 12 x 3/4 \" (35.9 x 30.5 x 1.9 cm)"}}]}