Sir James Jebusa Shannon R.A., R.B.A., R.H.A.

R. Thornton Wilson

His sale, Christie's, New York, 30 October 1992, lot 285 (as Portrait of a Lady)

A New York State native, James Jebusa Shannon moved as a child to Canada and later to to England, where he studied at the South Kensington School of Art under Sir Edward Poynter. He quickly established himself as a successful portrait painter thanks to commissions from Queen Victoria in 1880 and 1881. Subsequent success at the Royal Academy secured him a firm position as one of the leading society portrait painters and full memberships in the Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists and Royal Hibernian Academy, due to his Irish descent.

Marjorie Merriweather Post was 20 years old at the time of this portrait. Heiress to the Post fortune, which included General Foods Corporation, she was a a philanthropist and significant collector of Russian art, as well as a fixture on the social circuit in the United States. Dating from 1907, the present work is possibly the earliest portrait of Ms. Post, showing her in a black dress decorated with an abundant lace collar after the fashion of the early 20th century. Her soft gaze and innocent smile betray her youth and will later be replaced by a firm and confident poise of a worldly business woman. 

This painting is being offered in a carved Carrig-Rohane frame, signed, dated and numbered 1907/ Carrig Rohane/ 442.