Yay or Nay? Mrs. Elijah Boardman
My selections have been pleasing you lately! I am surprised, with this being a hard crowd to please. The Duke of Alba got another Yay last week. This week has been rather springy and today being the first day of spring, I can't help but post a dress for the seasons.
Ralph Earl paints Mary Ann Boardman (1796) in her persimmon gown and lace fichu with flowers in her hair. Yay or Nay?
[Huntington Library and Art Gallery]
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26 comments:
Yay! I love the color of the skirt, it's a wonderful pop of color. However, did she really feel the need to match the table cloth?
A big YAY! I love everything about this dress, the color, the frilly fichu, the fabric...
yay on the dress, love the color. The coiffure is unfortunate, though. It looks more like it should have been a table decoration.
Yay! A little style from this side of the pond...
I've always wondered about the hat on the table, however. She couldn't ever have intended to put it on top of those flowers. Is it there just in case the flowers wilt, or maybe representing the absent Mr. Boardman?
YAY!
The colour is divine!
Although I am not too fond of her hair.
I think I have to remain neutral on this one. The dress itself is beautiful, but I don't care for the color. Between that, the tablecloth and drapes, and even the chair fabric, it's too monochromatic against the gray of the walls. Perhaps the fact that I can't wear orange at all 'color's' my opinion, but I don't think so ;)
Is that a broach she's wearing? It looks like something hanging from her hair.
The hat looks like the artist tossed it on the table before he set up his easel.
I think each item alone is charming, but the composition is too off-putting for me.
A big yay from me! I love everything from the waist down, especially the color, but I agree with Helene about the headdress looking more like a centerpiece.
Focusing just on her outfit, I have to say yay. It's a great pop of spring, something I need living in snowy, rainy New England! Not too fond of her hair, though.
Nay. Too much fussiness covering her bodice.
I love her gown, the color is beautiful. I don't care for her hat. I would have liked to see something larger/poufier or no hat at all. I agree with Nightmusic - the composition is off-putting and would it have killed her to smile?
So, it's a mild yay from me.
Too bad about the drapes, tablecloth and back of the chair---all take away from the gorgeosity of her skirt. I even like the fluffy fischu and the flowers in her hair. A big yay from me for the dress not the setting.
I like the dress but I think it's a shame that she matches the curtains.
yay! give me that hat!
Oh dear, I think I am the one of the few nay's lol. I do agree the colors are beautiful, but there is just something missing. I think it is a lifelike quality from the two subjects.
I love the dress. I would have preferred a less elaborate fichu with such a big head dress BUT still a yay due to the color and style!
Oh, sorry, but nay.
I do love the skirt, but all the frills on top are to much for me.
Oh Nay. I love the persimmon colour, but the fichu is terribly unflattering, and the whole ensemble is a little too symmetrical and lacks flair.
Also, clearly no-one told Mrs Boardman that the dress is not supposed to match the furniture!
Yay!
I like aspects of the outfit, like the broach and the skirt fabric, but overall I think it is frumpy and homely. Perhaps because the wearer is both of those things. If the bodice was more tailored and perhaps if she hadn't had the genius idea of pinning her nosegay to the top of her head...I vote 'nay'. [But I love her taste in rugs.]
YAY! I know some are off-put by her hair, but I think it epitomizes American simpilicty in fashion. I think it's a lovely ensemble.
I like only the color of the dress and nothing else about it. Don't like the hat. I also think her expression is a bit strange. No charm.
Yay! I love the simpleness of it, yet how the ruffles keep it from looking severe, and that clean soft form really lets the beautiful color of the dress shine. I like little splash of orange flowers in her hair, too.
I love the dress, the color of it.
Nay - went a bit too far with the colour co-ordination...and, though I like the colour of the skirt itself, the whole portrait smacks of coloured pencil. (Please don't lynch me!)Love the view out the window, however!
I'm sorry to Nay say... but Mary's man face throws the whole ensemble off, totally... lol
I'm a nay to the whole shebang.
But I still love (lur) you!
Yay, I love the vivid colors and delicate lace.
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