American Primitive School Reproduction Oil Painting | Portrait of a Girl

Reproduction oil painting of a 19th century ‘Portrait of a Girl’ in the American Primitive School style. The original painting is believed to have been done in 1840, with the artist remaining unknown today.

What I love about this rendition is that the background is particularly dark and moody so that the subject somewhat floats in the center, lending a spooky, gothic vibe. It would look right at home in the room of Wednesday Addams, with our subject holding black grapes and a thorny, withered rose. That said, the darkness is juxtaposed with our young figure in a fresh white pleated dress and pantaloons with delicate lace trim. The logos on the canvas backing indicates that this painting was done sometime between 1930 – 1960. There is a light, faint, lowercase ‘g’ beside one foot that may be a signature.

The American Primitive School was a group of American artists active in the 19th century. The style of their works today fall into the categorizations of Americana and Early American Folk Art.

Some famous works that are very similar to this reproduction include:

Girl Holding a Rose attributed to Sturtevant J. Hamblen, ca. 1850, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art

Young Girl with Flowers, oil on canvas painting by Samuel Miller (1807-1853), c. 1850, De Young Museum