Portrait Of A Young Girl, 1920–1930

Subject: Portrait of a Little Girl

Medium: oil on canvas

Framed dimensions: 66 x 58 cm

Painting dimensions: 55 x 46 cm

Period: 20th century, 1920s–1930s

Condition: good condition—see photos

Anonymous

Label on the back of the frame

The inscription "PLOHN & CO. 10 E. 8TH STREET NEW YORK" corresponds to a former framing shop, art supply store, or art gallery that was located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. The painting was framed and most likely sold in New York. Eighth Street (E. 8th Street) was a very active artistic and bohemian hub in New York, particularly during the first half of the 20th century. The label dates from the 1920s or 1930s; later, this label would include a phone number, which would allow us to date it more precisely. Spurred by arts support programs such as the WPA (Works Progress Administration) during the Great Depression, hundreds of painters based in New York adopted this gentle yet structured figurative style. The fact that this painting bears a label from 8th Street in Greenwich Village links it geographically to this vast community of artists who exhibited and had their works framed within that exact area.