Portrait of a Woman

Possibly Alfred Ebsworth Hill (1862–1940), London and Hertfordshire, by April 21, 1940 [1];

Possibly purchased from his posthumous sale, Valuable Jewels, Miniatures, Objects of Vertu, Silhouettes, Etc., Sotheby’s, London, May 13, 1942, lot 78, as A Girl, by James Lifetree (ca. 1861–1943), London, 1942 [2];

Unknown man, by May 1, 1958 [3];

Purchased at the unknown man’s sale, Fine Portrait Miniatures, Sotheby’s, London, May 1, 1958, lot 54, as A Lady, by Weaver [4];

Edward Grosvenor Paine (1911–1989), New Orleans, probably by ca. 1975;

Purchased from Paine by Mr. Donald J. (1927–2013) and Mrs. Victoria (1924–2017) Quinn, Kansas City, MO, by ca. 1975–2017;

By descent to their son, Donald J. Quinn II (b. 1955), Kansas City, MO, 2017–2018;

Purchased from Quinn by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2018.

Notes

[1] Alfred Ebsworth Hill was a violin maker and one of the sons of William Ebsworth Hill, who established W. E. Hill and Sons, Violin and Bow Makers, in 1880. The company is still in business as of 2025. Hill’s property was sold by order of his executors in three sales at Sotheby’s on July 12, 1940, May 7, 1942, and May 13, 1942. The miniature is not reproduced in his sales catalogue so it cannot be definitively confirmed that he owned this object.

[2] According to the lot description, “A Gold Tie Ring, the oval bezel set with a miniature of a girl, by John Smart, signed and dated 1772, she is depicted head and shoulders three-quarters sinister, gaze directed at spectator, wearing a pearl necklet and a pale blue dress, 2 cm.; fitted case.” According to Art Prices Current (1941–42), Lifetree bought lot 54 for £21.

Mr. James Lifetree, Esq. donated several portrait miniatures to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, in the 1920s and 1930s. Lifetree co-owned a business, Gilt and Fancy Moulding Manufacturers, at 34, 36 and 38, Bannerstreet, London, with a factory in Wusterhausen, Germany. The partnership was dissolved on March 16, 1906. London Gazette, January 1, 1907, 69, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27982/page/69/data.pdf. He opened his own moulding manufactory at 44, 45, and 46 Eagle St, London. See Post Office London Directory Trades Directory, 1910, p. 1597, https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/api/collection/p16445coll4/id/24510/download.

[3] Lots 48–54 are listed as “The Property of a Gentleman.”

[4] According to the lot description, “A Fine Miniature of a Lady by John Smart, signed with initials and dated 1772, forming the bezel of a gold ring, almost full face, with high-piled brown hair, wearing a blue dress and pearl necklace, 7/8 in., fitted case.”

An annotated catalogue for this sale is located at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Miller Nichols Library. The annotations are most likely by Mr. or Mrs. Starr. Lot 54 is annotated in pencil with “65.” According to the attached price list, Weaver bought lot 54 for £65.