This is a wonderfully candid-feeling group portrait of six young women taking a breather from a game of croquet. They’re perched across a slatted garden bench beneath a big shade tree, each with a mallet either resting in her hands or propped against the seat. Two straw hats—one a jaunty boater—sit on the bench like time-capsule props. Nobody is posing stiffly; there’s the relaxed camaraderie of friends who’ve been laughing and competing all afternoon. Clothing helps date the scene to the late 1890s–very early 1900s. We get classic leg-of-mutton sleeves, high collars, pin-tucked bodices, and waist belts, with hair dressed up in the fashionable pompadour style. The woman at left looks off with a serious “game face,” the two standing in the middle wear tiny, knowing smiles, and the two seated in front give us the best expressions: one cool and composed with her mallet across her lap, the other glancing sideways with a mischievous, almost conspiratorial look. It’s easy to imagine them as a local club, sisters, or classmates—Victorian sport as social life is exactly what made croquet so popular. (SOLD)
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 