Mary Sears (later Mrs. Francis Shaw)
Joseph Florentin Léon Bonnat
(French, 1833–1922)
1878
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions126.4 x 75 cm (49 3/4 x 29 1/2 in.)
Credit LineGift of Miss Clara Endicott Sears
Accession number30.766
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
The Sears and Shaw families were very prominent in the Boston area and were important patrons of the Museum of Fine Arts. Painted in Paris in 1878, this portrait was shown at the Paris Salon the following year. Bonnat was internationally acclaimed for his portraits, and he considered this to be one of his best.
InscriptionsLower left: Ln. Bonnat / 1878Provenance1878, Knyvet Winthrop Sears (b. 1832) and his wife, Mary Peabody Sears (b. 1836), Boston (original commission) [see note 1]; by inheritance to their daughter, Clara Endicott Sears (b. 1863 - d. 1960), Boston; 1930, gift of Miss Clara Endicott Sears to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 4, 1930)NOTES:
[1] They were the parents of the sitter. According to information provided by the donor, Clara Endicott Sears (sister of the sitter), this portrait was painted in Bonnat's studio in Paris. Notes in the curatorial file indicate that it was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1879 (no. 341, as "Miss M. S.").
Victor Léon Jean Pierre Charreton
