Print: Portrait of "Jenny Lind" in a white dress with rose pink sash
1900 – 1920 (Date manufactured/created)
7 in H
X
5 in W
Small, printed portrait of Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind shown wearing an ivory color gown with a lace overskirt and rose pink sash. She is depicted standing in dainty slippers on bare ground with meadow grasses on either side, and a pale blue background suggesting sky. Her wavy hair is pulled to the back and decorated with flowers. With "bright" eyes, she looks slightly upward toward the left as if something catches her attention. One hand is lifted as if pointing, while the other hand holds a lace-trimmed handkerchief. Her jewelry includes prominent cuff bracelets. Her bodice features a wide, off-the-shoulder neckline with a pleated bertha collar that extends from the bust across the upper part of her arms preventing her from fully raising her arms. A corsage of roses is pinned at the center front of the bertha collar.
The printer is unknown despite the name visible in the lower left corner. The inclusion of "Baxter's Oil Printing, 15 Northampton Square" indicates this print is a fake or forged version of a Baxter print from the 1800s. George Baxter’s prints became highly sought after and high priced in the early 1900s, and led to a huge number of fakes being produced, especially in the 1920s. That Jenny Lind remained a popular subject decades beyond her life is an interesting point made by the existence of the forged portrait.
Jenny Lind (October 6, 1820 - November 2, 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, popularly known as The Swedish Nightingale. The exceptional quality of her voice was recognized when she was young, and she received training at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Sweden, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. She reached high acclaim in Europe, and was especially popular with English audiences prior being engaged by P. T. Barnum to give a concert tour in North America in 1850-1851. Lind, previously unknown in the US, was heavily promoted by Barnum, creating an insatiable demand for concert tickets and the innumerable consumer products that were manufactured with her name or general likeness. "Lindmania" took hold of the popular imagination and continued for decades though Lind's time in America was relatively short. While in America, Lind married her accompanist, Otto Goldschmidt. The couple later settled in England and raised three children. Lind became a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London. She is buried at the Great Malvern Cemetery in Malvern, Worcestershire, England.
The printer is unknown despite the name visible in the lower left corner. The inclusion of "Baxter's Oil Printing, 15 Northampton Square" indicates this print is a fake or forged version of a Baxter print from the 1800s. George Baxter’s prints became highly sought after and high priced in the early 1900s, and led to a huge number of fakes being produced, especially in the 1920s. That Jenny Lind remained a popular subject decades beyond her life is an interesting point made by the existence of the forged portrait.
Jenny Lind (October 6, 1820 - November 2, 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, popularly known as The Swedish Nightingale. The exceptional quality of her voice was recognized when she was young, and she received training at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Sweden, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. She reached high acclaim in Europe, and was especially popular with English audiences prior being engaged by P. T. Barnum to give a concert tour in North America in 1850-1851. Lind, previously unknown in the US, was heavily promoted by Barnum, creating an insatiable demand for concert tickets and the innumerable consumer products that were manufactured with her name or general likeness. "Lindmania" took hold of the popular imagination and continued for decades though Lind's time in America was relatively short. While in America, Lind married her accompanist, Otto Goldschmidt. The couple later settled in England and raised three children. Lind became a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music in London. She is buried at the Great Malvern Cemetery in Malvern, Worcestershire, England.
T 2013.033.001