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30. Portrait of Timothy (the Rowans’ son), 1929 (1930?)
Watercolor miniature, 2 ¾ x 2 ½ inches (unframed), 5 x 4 ½ inches (framed), likely on ivory, initialed "ES", inscribed 'Timothy' By Emma Siboni Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Edward B. Rown” verso
$750
Exhibited
i) Solo exhibition at the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery, Davenport, Iowa, March, 1930 (see – F.W.T., Siboni Exhibit of Miniatures is Outstanding – Portraits of Royal Family Members Included in Current Show, Quad City Times (Davenport, Iowa), March, 23, 1930 – “Nor does one easily forget that fetching oval miniature of Timothy Rowan, six-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward B. Rowan of Cedar Rapids. This is her recent work and Miss Siboni has portrayed this cunning lad with all his boyish wiles.”); and ii) Solo exhibition at the Washington Arts Club, Washington D.C., February, 1937 (see - Mechlin, Leila, Sculpture and Miniatures Attractions of Art Shows, The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) February 6, 1937 - "One of the miniatures now on view at the Arts Club is of Tim Rowan, the little son of Edward Rowan, head of the Treasury Department's procurement division art project. Miss Siboni seems to be peculiarly happy in her portraits of children.")
About the Artist
Emma Siboni was born in Sorö, Denmark in 1877. She primarily worked in watercolor and pastels and is best known as a miniaturist. In 1899, she was commissioned by the Empress Dowager of Russia for a royal portrait. Three years later, Queen Alexandra of England commissioned Siboni to paint her grandchildren. Siboni studied art at the Royal Art Academy in Copenhagen, the Berlin Academy, and at the Académie Julian in Paris. Her father Erich Siboni was a Dutch music teacher and pianist. She immigrated to the US following her parents’ death. In the U.S., Siboni studied at The Art Institute of Chicago and the St. Louis School of Fine Arts. Siboni exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery, the Washington Arts Club, and many other institutions across the country. By the 1920s, she won several prizes, including first place at the Eleventh Annual Exhibition of the California Miniature Society, and was considered among the best miniaturists working in the United States. Siboni lived in New York, Indiana, Illinois, California, Washington, D.C., and Missouri. In 1939, she returned to Denmark and lived at the Aastrup Monastery till her death in 1968. She is listed in Who Was Who in American Art and all other standard references.