Minneapolis Institute of Art

Portrait of Eliza Ann and Adelia Dusenberry

Orlando Hand Bears

Date

1838

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Dusenberry sisters sit on either side of a commode, or chest of drawers, with a romanticized landscape in the background. The basket of collected shells references a popular pastime among refined young women of the 1800s. Eliza Ann, a year older than her sister Adelia, holds a piece of white coral, considered a protection for children or a symbol of youth and health. Orlando Hand Bears was a native of Sag Harbor, New York. His clients were mostly prosperous merchants and ship captains associated with the whaling industry of eastern Long Island. While double portraits are quite common in his work, the abundant accessories and elaborate detail in this one are exceptional. United States, Americas

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