Courtesy of Sotheby's Inc., New York
Isaac Pinckney; Attributed to William M.S. Doyle; Circa 1820; Pastel on paper; 25 x 20"; Collection ofthe Rhode Island Historical Society. Originally from Philadelphia, Isaac Pinckney moved to Providence after his marriage to Julia Treadwell of that city. The Providence City Directory for 1824 lists him as a jeweler on Benefit Street and subsequent directories through 1848 continue to record him as ajeweler at North Main Street, Benefit Street and North Court Street. Since Doyle did not travel, the portraits of Isaac and his wife must have been painted when they visited Boston.
Julia Treadwell Pinckney;Attributed to William M.S. Doyle; Circa 1820; Pastel on paper; 25 x 20"; Collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society. Julia Treadwell Pinckney, according to death records, died in Providence September 15, 1845 at the age of48 years. She would have been about 23 years of age when her portrait was painted.
Photo: George M. Cushing/Courtesy of The Fruitlands Museum
Photo: George M. Cushing/Courtesy of The Fruit
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Courtesy of Sotheby's Inc., New York
very similar to the four we have attributed to her father. The first is her portrait of Abby Ann Duchesne of Massachusetts which is signed and dated "Margaret B. Doyle. 1814'The second is that of a young girl identified on a paper label attached to the reverse of the stretcher as "Mary ..." from Boston. It is dated 1818 and the artist is identified as Margaret Byron Doyle.' At the Frick Art Reference Library the authors found a reference to the pastel portrait of Henry Kendall which is reportedly inscribed on its reverse "Painted by Margaret B. Doyle, May 7, 1813' The present whereabouts of this painting is unknown so that we cannot state whether the subject is child or adult. The significant fact, however, is that this portrait as well as her two portraits of children, is signed with the inclusion of her first name. Her silhouette of Mrs. Brigham, which is in the collection of The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, is signed "M.B Doyle:' Other portraits by her are signed "Miss Margaret B. Doyle" or "Mrs. Chorley" (she married John Chorley in 1830). Her father, on the other hand, almost invariably used just his last name when he signed his work. A search for Margaret's birth record was unsuccessful, but her death certificate gives her date of death as October 27, 1856, cause of death as typhoid fever, and age at death as 56 years. Accordingly, she would have been 13 years of age when she did the pastel portrait of Henry Kendall in 1813 and 14 years old when the pastel of Abby Ann Duchesne was done the following year. The "Doyle" signed portrait of the May child is dated 1806 and the six-year-old Margaret could certainly not have been the painter. Undoubtedly, Margaret Byron Doyle, apparently a precocious child, used her father's work as a model, which would explain their similarity. Many sources, in addition to those
Elias Trafton;Attributed to William MS.Doyle; Circa 1820; Pastel on paper; 23/ 1 2x 20"; Collection of the Fruidands Museum. According to Clara Endicott Sears, the portraits of Elias Trafton of Swansea, Massachusetts and Sophronia Perry Trafton were painted in 1820, the year of their marriage. The Massachusetts census indexfor 1810 does list Elias Trafton in Swansea, but he is not recorded in the census for 1800 or 1820.
Sophronia Perry Trafton; Attributed to William M.S. Doyle; Circa 1820;Pastel on paper;24/ 1 2x 20/2"; Collection of the Fruitlands Museum. Although Sears identifies Sophronia as the sister of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, and although the latter did have three sisters, none of them were named Sophronia. Discovered in Drepperd's "American Pioneer Arts and Artists" is a photograph ofa pastelportrait ofa woman so similar in appearance to that of Sophronia Trafton there is no question but that they were both done by the same hand. The Clarion