Wigs on the Green has dated this piece to the Regency era.
She was 22 when she married Thomas Nash, a farmer from the nearby village of Fowlmere. The couple went on to have their own large family of at least eight children. Martha was 61 when she died in 1845, four years after her husband’s death.
With nice costume detailing achieved through the use of shading and scratching out with a needle, the silhouette is in very good condition. Gibbs’ silhouettes were originally backed with wax but this often cracked becoming unsightly. Here the wax has been replaced with cream silk. The silhouette is housed in the original papier-mâché frame (the front of the hanger has broken off though the hanger remains stable and usable) with the artist’s small trade label reverse. There is also an old hand-written label.
Bedfordshire-born Hinton Gibbs took up silhouette painting whilst pursuing a career in the militia. His painting subsequently became a full-time occupation upon his discharge from the militia in 1815. Gibbs moved around the country, advertising locally as he went, and found plenty of work. He was later joined in the business by one of his daughters. A full account of Hinton Gibbs’ career can be enjoyed at: www.wigsonthegreen.co.uk/hinton-gibbs-miss-gibbs/
Framed Size: 152 x 130mm
Wigs on the Green has dated this piece to the Regency era.
Small portraiture of character & historical interest
You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Wigs on the Green Profile Page
Hinton Gibbs, Silhouette on Glass of Martha Nash
