Portrait of a Woman before a Window
Attributed to William Henry Brown American
Not on view
While its subject is unknown, this image has been linked to William Henry Brown, who was among the most prolific silhouette portraitists of the nineteenth century. Brown tended to affix his silhouettes to sepia-toned lithographs that mimicked the look of drawings, as is the case here. Usually made by cutting a profile portrait from black-inked paper, silhouettes were wildly popular throughout the nineteenth century. The democratic nature of the art form can be attributed to the affordability of the materials involved; as scissors, ink, and paper were relatively inexpensive, silhouettes could be commissioned for relatively small sums.
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