Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de - Elizabeth Lonsdale Kay Daingerfield - c. 1804-1806 - T-Shirt

A profile portrait of a young woman turned to the left, set inside an oval vignette of warm ochre wash, drawn in pencil and watercolour around 1804 to 1806.

Visual Elements & Composition

The sitter faces strictly left, cut off at the upper arm, and her head sits high in the oval. Ochre fills most of the sheet, with pale cream in her gown and a grey-blue wash across the background and lower margin. Her face is modelled in soft blush, and her hair is built up in brown wash into a high topknot with a looped bow at the crown, with short curls falling across the brow and temple. A blue sash sits beneath the bust of her high-waisted dress, and the open back of a spindle-back chair stands behind her. Nothing competes with the figure: the chair is plain and the background is open.

Meaning & Symbolism

The profile view, the simple costume and the restrained palette give the portrait a modest, gentle character. The coiffure and high waist place the sitter in the fashion of the first years of the nineteenth century, when this style of dress signalled a young woman of good standing. The oval frame belongs to the keepsake likeness, made for a family member or a friend rather than a formal public commission. The catalogue names Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Memin as the artist, known chiefly for profile likenesses made in the United States in the early nineteenth century. This sheet adds a painted, tinted version to that body of work, with softer colour and finer detail in the hair and dress.

Why This Design Works on a Tee

A profile portrait reads cleanly across the chest, and the oval vignette gives the composition a defined edge that sits well on a shirt. The face and topknot hold the eye at a glance, while the sash and chair add quiet detail for a closer look. Printed on this tee, the piece keeps the intimate, personal scale of the original keepsake.