* artists illustrating boys fashions: Jefferson Gauntt Spies family
Jefferson Gauntt: The Spies Children
Figure 1.-- One of Jefferson Gauntt's children's portraits was the Spies children. The family appear to be German immigrants although we do not know just when they immigrated. We have no further information on ehe family. Of course a painted portrait mean almost by definition that they were a prosperous faily. The Spies portrait looks to us to have been painted in the 1830s, although that is only our preliminary assessment. We can find no dating for the portait, despite the fact that there are many internet sites that have loaded the portrait, unfortunately with no real information about it. It is the most animated of Gauntt's children portraits.
One of Jefferson Gauntt's children's portraits was the Spies children. The family appear to be German immigrants although we do not know just when they immigrated. We have no further information on ehe family. Of course a painted portrait mean almost by definition that they were a prosperous faily. The Spies portrait looks to us to have been painted in the 1830s, although that is only our preliminary assessment. We can find no dating for the portait, despite the fact that there are many internet sites that have loaded the portrait, unfortunately with no real information about it. Again Gauntt paints them in a bucolic country setting. It is the most animated of Gauntt's children porttaits. There are four children. The two older girls wear identical adult-styled dark brown dresses with moderate necklines with narrowed waists. Notice the popular coral necklassess and characteristic straw bonnets done with pink ribbons. (This is the bonnet style generally attributed to pioneer women.) Even though their dresses are cutv a a long length, they wear long pntalettes covrering their ankles. It is not clear what paper the older girk is holding. The younger children are a boy and girl. The boy wears a two-color skeleon suit with an open collar that had lacy trim. The jacket has short sleeves. The younger girl wears white dress with an orange bodice. She also has a coral necklace.
