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Arabella Worsham

1882
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
In 1882, Arabella Worsham set sail on her first European trip, timed during the renovation of her townhouse. While decorator George A. Schastey was providing her with an entirely new domestic backdrop, Worsham embarked on her own personal reinvention when she commissioned the celebrated Parisian society painter Alexandre Cabanel to execute this grand full-length portrait. She stands tall, almost courtly, dressed in a sumptuous claret velvet gown of the latest fashion and wearing modest jewelry and her ubiquitous spectacles. As such, she left behind her humble youth spent in Richmond, Virginia, to embrace her social ambitions. In 1884, she married railroad magnate Collis P. Huntington and began her journey as an art collector and philanthropist.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Arabella Worsham
  • Artist: Alexandre Cabanel (French, Montpellier 1823–1889 Paris)
  • Date: 1882
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 85 1/4 x 50 1/2 (216.5 x 128.3 cm)
  • Credit Line: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of Archer M. Huntington (40.3.11)
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing