Museum number
2015.6
Object
Cut paper silhouette by Augustin Edouart (1789-1861): Ann Arter, 'Bath Character', cut black paper on paper support, 1827
Inscription
Ann Arter, Fruit Woman in Bath, 27 Jan 1827 // Bath Character
On display?
Yes

Further description

Simple name
silhouette
Dimensions
mount size: 37cm (h) x 25.5cm (w)
sheet size: 32.2cm (h) x 24.7cm (w)
Augustin Edouart (1789-1861) Ann Arter, 1827 Cut paper Inscribed: Bath Character / [in pencil, in a later hand:] Ann Arter, Fruit Woman in Bath, 27 Jan 1827 Augustin Edouart arrived in England from his native France in 1814. Here he discovered a remarkable talent for freehand paper cutting. Over 25 years he produced more than 100,000 portraits in Britain and America. Edouart launched his commercial career in Bath around 1825. At Price’s Auction Rooms in Old Bond Street, he exhibited portraits that could be easily recognised: famous actors, local worthies and a series of ‘Bath Characters’. The Bath Characters were mostly street hawkers, familiar but anonymous figures around town. Edouart often wrote brief biographies alongside their portraits, turning them into individuals rather than anonymous features of the urban landscape. Towards the end of his life, Edouart set sail homeward for France. His ship was wrecked off the coast of Guernsey, and with it several folios of silhouettes, his life’s work. About one in ten of the portraits was rescued, including these two sheets. They are still slightly stained from the sea water. Acquired in 2015 with the generous support of David Pike 2015.6

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