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Portrait of Miriam Shell Poole

Portrait of Miriam Shell Poole

Artist: William Hugh Ferguson (American, 1905 - 1985)

Date: 1932
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions:
Canvas: 35 x 24 in. (88.9 x 61 cm)
Credit Line:Gift, William Ferguson
Object number: 1961.162.1
Miriam Shell Poole was the first wife of the Reading Public Museum’s second director, Earl Lincoln Poole. Ferguson captures her gazing downward against a dark background, with the contours of her neck and shoulders demonstrating the artist’s interest in Art Deco portraits, such as those by Tamara Lempicka, among others. Throughout his career, Ferguson freely experimented with new styles and adopted them in his portraits and landscapes.
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