Memorial to Jane Amanda Fenn

Art Historical Context

In the hushed galleries of The American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art the *Memorial to Jane Amanda Fenn (ca. 1843) stands as a touching example of 19th-century folk art. This small oil painting on glass, measuring 10 3/4 x 13 1/2 inches, likely depicts a cemetery scene honoring the young woman, evoking the era's deep fascination with death and remembrance. Created by an unknown artist, it captures the naive charm typical of vernacular works made by itinerant painters or family members, gifted to the museum in 1964 by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. During the 1840s, mour...