Isabella Vaill Waldo (American, 1842-1929) oil portrait painting on canvas of Reverend S. Howland. Artwork in thick, antique wood frame with gilded liner measures 29.5" x 25.5". Signed upper left. Dated 1881-1888. Good antique condition with scattered light age appropriate wear including craquelure. Frame also in good condition with scattered age appropriate wear.
Isabel Vaill Waldo was born 1842 in midwest America. Initially a school teacher, her pull to the arts was strong. Waldo received formal artistic training at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris from 1869 to 1874. She studied under prominent instructors like Charles-Édouard Fortescue and Jean-Léon Gérôme, absorbing their approaches to composition, color theory, and rendering natural forms.
Upon her return to America, Isabel Vaill Waldo established a home and studio in Connecticut, in the towns of New Haven and Southport. It is here that she truly flourished as an artist, dedicating herself primarily to painting landscapes and portraits. Her portraiture demonstrates a remarkable ability to capture not only physical likeness but also the personality and character of her subjects.
