(American, 1824-1906)

Group with Mrs. Sarah Fairchild Conover, Superior, Wisconsin, 1857, signed and dated lower left "E.J. 1857", labels verso, pastel on canvas, 25-1/2 x 32 in.; ornate period gilt wood and composition frame, 36 x 41 in.

Provenance: Coe Kerr Gallery, New York; Michael Altman Art Advisory Services, New York; Adelson Galleries, New York; Private Collection

Notes: Exhibited: 100 Years of American Art, Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA, January - March 1979.

Sarah Fairchild Conover was daughter of the first mayor of Madison Wisconsin, and the sister of Civil War General and Wisconsin Governor Lucius Fairchild. The Wisconsin Historical Society has a large and important archive of Fairchild family history, including Sarah's correspondence from the 1850s.  The Historical Society Museum houses the family's paintings and decorative arts. The occasion of this portrait is unknown, but does not appear to correspond with any known family or national occasions. She was active in many social and civic organizations, of which this could possibly be a rendering of one.