Boy portrait in sailor suit 1902

Bust portrait, laterally from the right. In dark blue sailor suit with light blue white-striped envelope collar. Undershirt light blue. On his left side a dark pink ribbon.

JQAW# P_1902_040
Pastel on paper on canvas, round image 53 cm DM, image dimensions 69x 56 cm.
Signature: John Q. Ɑdams. 902
Private collection Austria.

Portrait of a boy in a sailor suit that came into fashion around 1900. (Last relic of this fashion are the sailor suits of the Wiener Sängerknaben, which were introduced after the monarchy). Both technique (pastel) and dating suggest a relationship to the extended Sobotka family (1901 marriage of John Quincy Adams to Steffie Sobotka - 1901 pastel portrait Alice Hauser, née Sobotka). The sitter is probably the later MIT professor Ernst Alfred Hauser (1896-1956) son of Alice Hauser, or possibly his cousin, Franz Valentin Epler (1894-1918), the son of Gabriele Epler, née Sobotka, who was killed in action in World War I. See image comparison (portrait of Alice Hauser mirrored).

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Exhibited

Literature

Provenance

Unknown.
Markowsky family Vienna/Styria.
Art trade Styria.
2017 Private collection Austria.