Linda - Forget what the hand-written card says, and look at the picture ... I see a young woman in a double strand of pearls, a voluminous gauzy white shawl, wearing a white gauze dress with a wrapped bodice and a raised waistline, and a very sleek hair style. Everything I see in the picture is consistent with it being painted between 1790-1810. Sully was a "society painter", catering to the wealthy, so paying a few dollars more for detail was not a problem for his sitters. He wasn't the travelling portrait painter who had stock canvases he painted heads onto, charging extra for personalization. Sully's fame was so great that women travelled WEEKS to get to his studio. This portrait was an expensive status symbol for the man who paid Sully to do it. And a fashionable young woman would not sit for a portrait in less than her fashionable best. The fashion for all-white, filmy, Greek-inspired clothing (on women) was over before Delilah was born. Look at known Sully portraits from the 1830s and see what they look like. Neckline, fabric, shape is all different. Also, by the time Delilah was old enough for this to be her (1830s), the "a la greque" fashions were considered not only unfashionable, but verging on immoral. Posing for a portrait in a Directoire style muslin gown would have been like posing in your corset cover ... unthinkable! "There is supposedly another portrait by the same artist of Nilson Henry Stearly and a sampler done by Adiline, but we are not aware of their whereabouts. They might have been sold when DH's grandmother died." Stories about family change over time, and ownership of objects and identities of portraits are misremembered unless you have someone who writes it all down as it happens and a family that preserves the writings. It's just as likely that this is Adiline's portrait, to match Nilson's, and the sampler was done by their daughter Delilah. The index of Sully's paintings is fairly complete, and it would be worth looking into it to see if he mentions the painting.

Hi fori, That's a charming little painting. The varnish has yellowed. To really get the colors back, you would need to remove it and revarnish. Since you're losing paint in the center, I'd be loath to try this myself. OTOH, painting restoration can be kind of pricey. A restorer would take off the old varnish, stabilize the areas of loss with adhesive, inpaint, and revarnish. The painting would look great. But depending on where you live, it could cost more than the painting is worth. It looks like oil on board to me, too. You might be safe with a water-dampened cotton ball or soft cloth in the areas with no cracking, just to see if you can get the surface dirt off. As for the frame, I like it, but I think it belongs to a later period. Still, if it were mine, I'd be more inclined to spend a couple of hundred on restoration than on a new frame.

I recently saw this on T.V. where they were restoring an old painting. I'm not sure what was used but, it sticks in my mind that water was not part of it. I know I'm of no help, but I don't want you to ruin it before you really find out what you should use. Good luck! Have you tried art galleries, painting classes at schools/colleges/ internet?

I'm a collector and have had luck with a very mild mixture of ivory soap and water when I've needed to clean some of my prizes. But...use an extremely light touch. Never scrub or use any abrasive tools! And...if possible...try this solution in an area of the painting where it won't show...like a corner or folded over canvas on the frame...if that exists. Just wet the rag, squeeze it out to a semi dry state and dab away. If the rag turns the color of the suspected grime...you'll know it's working. This treatment is best for oil paintings only. Unless you are absolutely positive that the artist used 100% oil paint...do as suggested above and consult with a professional cleaner. Above all...don't use the lemon solution. Lemon contains an acid [citric acid] that could do harm. The only other solution I've used with good results is a mild mixture using Simple Green and water but for recommendation purposes...I'd prefer that you stick with the ivory soap solution. Once the canvas is clean...use clear water on a clothe to remove any of the soap mixture and gently dry the canvas with a dry clothe. HTH Anne