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Ethel Saltus Ludington
190320th Century
39 1/4 in. x 29 3/8 in.
Cecilia Beaux, American, (1855–1942)
Object Type:
Painting
Medium and Support:
oil on canvas
Credit Line:
Florence Griswold Museum; Gift of The Ludington Family
Accession Number:
2006.7
Cecilia Beaux specialized in portraits of cultural and economic elites. Here, her subject is Ethel Saltus Ludington (1871–1922), the wife of Philadelphia publisher Charles H. Ludington, who summered with her husband’s family in Old Lyme.
Beaux was an acclaimed artist and an independent woman—both difficult positions for women to attain in the early 1900s. She often challenged her viewers’ expectations for portraits by and of women by stressing her sitters’ charisma rather than their physical beauty. Here, Beaux’s loose brushwork and choice of fresh greens suggest Mrs. Ludington’s youthful vivacity. The energy Beaux so vividly captures made Ludington a natural leader of Philadelphia’s social clubs, charitable causes, and art organizations.
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Dimensions
- Frame Dimensions: 43 7/8 in. x 33 7/8 in. Measured by Lansing, Amy
- image only Dimensions: 39 1/4 x 29 3/8 in.
Provenance History
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Owner Name: C. Townsend Ludington and Family
Role: grandson of the sitter, facilitator of gift
Place: Old Lyme, CT/Chapel Hill, N.C.
Dates: 1909, 2006