Sarah Bushnell Perkins, later Grosvenor (1771–1831) was an amateur

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those us ...

list. Born in Plainfield,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, Perkins was the daughter of Dr.

Elisha Perkins Elisha Perkins (January 16, 1741September 6, 1799) was a United States physician who created a fraudulent medical device, the Perkins Patent Tractors. Although they were made of steel and brass, Perkins claimed that they were made of unusual m ...

, one of the proprietors of the Plainfield Academy, which she may have attended. The pastels which are known to be hers date from the 1790s and mainly depict members of her family. Her paintings are now held by numerous organizations, including the historical societies of

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

and

Historic Deerfield Historic Deerfield is a museum dedicated to the heritage and preservation of Deerfield, Massachusetts, and history of the Connecticut River Valley. Its historic houses, museums, and programs provide visitors with an understanding of New Engla ...

. Stylistically they are primitive, using a small amount of color only for depicting flesh tones. Perkins married General Lemuel Grosvenor in 1801, and appears to have given up art at this time; some have attempted to identify her with the Beardsley Limner, active between 1785 and 1805, but on stylistic grounds this appears unlikely. Others have noted her mother's death in 1795 and her father's in 1799, indicating that she may have given up her work to look after her siblings. She is buried in the Pomfret Street Cemetery in

Pomfret, Connecticut Pomfret is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 4,266 in 2020 according to the 2020 United States Census. The land was purchased from Native Americans in 1686 (the "Mashmuket Purchase" or "Mashamoquet Purchase ...

References

{{authority control 1771 births 1831 deaths 18th-century American painters 18th-century American women painters 19th-century American painters 19th-century American women painters American portrait painters American pastel artists People from Plainfield, Connecticut Painters from Connecticut Women pastel artists