Detail of
neckline on Sarah Threet
The crudeness
of the rendering suggests that the garment was not part of the original image
from which this charcoal-enhanced image was produced
Analysis in March 2004, by
Maureen Taylor, a columnist with Family
Tree Magazine, suggests this image was produced in the 1890s. She bases this
conclusion on the garment worn by the woman in the image, which Ms. Taylor
states is a style worn in the 1890s. One bit of evidence that I observe,
suggesting that the garment was added to the portrait, is that the rendering
around the woman’s neckline is done in crude black lines, as if the artist did
not know how to work the shading that would result on the neck from such an
outfit, or that the garment was added to the face in a “paper doll” manner. It
is possible the artist even updated the hairstyle as the one presented is said
my Ms. Taylor to be more common to the 1890s.
Ms. Taylor describes these
types of charcoal enhanced images in her article at this link:
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/photos/may15-00.htm