Robert Feke (American, ca.1707-ca.1752). <em>Portrait of a Woman</em>, 1748. Oil on canvas, 49 3/8 x 39 9/16 in. (125.4 x 100.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund and Museum Purchase Fund, 43.229 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 43.229_SL1.jpg)

Robert Feke (American, ca.1707-ca.1752). Portrait of a Woman, 1748. Oil on canvas, 49 3/8 x 39 9/16 in. (125.4 x 100.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund and Museum Purchase Fund, 43.229 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 43.229_SL1.jpg)

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Do you know what kind of flower the woman is holding, and if it has some symbolism?

Hello! Thank you for trying the ASK app today. That is a very interesting question re: the flower. I think you are the first person to ask. One moment while we look through our curatorial notes and see if we can find an answer for you. Feel free to walk around that room while we research!

Great, thanks again.

Thank you for waiting! We cannot find anything in our notes about this particular flower (i.e., what type of flower it is and if that particular flower had symbolism due to the type/color/etc.). However, we do have a few sources that discuss women in colonial portraiture holding flowers as a symbol of everything from fertility (i.e., she is a young woman of marriageable age at this point) to the fleeting nature of life and age (i.e., she is in the prime of her life, but like a flower, will eventually wither), to hobby interests (i.e., the woman being painted may have been an avid gardener!).

Apologies for such a very broad answer, but thank you for giving us a new question to research!

No, it's great! Thanks

Who was this?

We're not sure of this woman's identity, but we can see that her gown is magnificent! It's both a sign of her wealth and the artist's innovation.

Feke was a popular portraitist in the English American colonies. He sometimes used silver in his painting to make certain elements, like her gown, more lustrous.

Portrait of a Woman

Robert Feke

American Art

The Conservator's Eye

An X radiograph of this portrait reveals a compositional change invisible to the naked eye: the elimination of an elaborate blue drape that initially hung from the sitter’s right shoulder and wrapped around her waist. This hidden feature shows up in the radiograph because Robert Feke used lead white pigment to paint the highlights. Lead is a dense material that absorbs X-rays, causing the highlights to appear white in the radiograph, even where they have been covered with additional paint. The blue color of the draping is visible within the cracks under strong magnification. Feke made this change late in the painting process, but it is unknown if the change was made at the sitter’s request.

ARTIST Robert Feke, American, ca.1707-ca.1752

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

DATES 1748

DIMENSIONS 49 3/8 x 39 9/16 in. (125.4 x 100.5 cm) frame: 59 3/8 x 49 9/16 x 4 1/4 in. (150.8 x 125.9 x 10.8 cm) (show scale)

SIGNATURE Unsigned

COLLECTIONS American Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 43.229

CREDIT LINE Dick S. Ramsay Fund and Museum Purchase Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Robert Feke (American, ca.1707-ca.1752). Portrait of a Woman, 1748. Oil on canvas, 49 3/8 x 39 9/16 in. (125.4 x 100.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund and Museum Purchase Fund, 43.229 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 43.229_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE overall, 43.229_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT No known copyright restrictions

This work may be in the public domain in the United States. Works created by United States and non-United States nationals published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, subject to the terms of any applicable treaty or agreement. You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this work. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties, such as artists or artists' heirs holding the rights to the work. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. The Brooklyn Museum makes no representations or warranties with respect to the application or terms of any international agreement governing copyright protection in the United States for works created by foreign nationals. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Do you know what kind of flower the woman is holding, and if it has some symbolism?

Great, thanks again.

Apologies for such a very broad answer, but thank you for giving us a new question to research!

No, it's great! Thanks

Who was this?

We're not sure of this woman's identity, but we can see that her gown is magnificent! It's both a sign of her wealth and the artist's innovation.

Feke was a popular portraitist in the English American colonies. He sometimes used silver in his painting to make certain elements, like her gown, more lustrous.

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Portrait of a Woman

Robert Feke

American Art

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American Art

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